


Legend of Zelda: The Time Keeper

by TimeSorceror



Category: Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/M, Headcanon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-23
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-03 09:06:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 52,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/696614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeSorceror/pseuds/TimeSorceror
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following the events of Ocarina of Time, a young woman trained as a Sheikah with a legacy she knows nothing about joins the fight against Ganon. She falls in love with the Hero's shadow, and becomes caught up in a war that seems impossible to win.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Hero of Time

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a revision of a story I’ve had on FF.net for ages, but recently a friend introduced me to the Archive so I thought now would be a good idea to start going over my completed stories so I can comb them for grammar mistakes and edit other pesky things like mistakes in character, plot, etc. 
> 
> If anyone has ever read the version of it on FF.net (my penname there is Hikari no Vikki), you will see there are several noticeable differences. The reasons for these differences are because of a review I received in September 2012, and it made me realize a revision was desperately needed.
> 
> Enjoy!

A girl stood in front of an altar: her bright, auburn hair swaying slightly though the air was still and quiet. Three stones that glittered like jewels twirl in the air an inch above the altar before her. It’s cold here. She shivers. Beyond the altar lies a corridor, and beyond that is a pedestal: but it holds nothing.

Wind blew the fabric of her dark cloak against her tunic, chilling her though she couldn’t fathom where it came from. Impa had told her more than once not to come here, but she couldn’t help her curiosity. She had to know what this place was, and why she wasn’t supposed to be here.

Well, the ReDeads in the outside courtyard might be part of the reason, but it would be ridiculous to base such a stringent warning on _that_. After all, they only tried to attack you if they heard you, and Impa had trained her in the ways of the Sheikah. She liked to think that she was better than making petty mistakes like that. 

She shivered again, violently this time. She was _so_ cold. Glaring at her surroundings, the girl wrapped her cloak around her tighter in an attempt to keep out the frigid air.

When she really looked around the place though, there didn’t seem to be much there. It certainly lived up to its name as the Temple of Time with its gigantic walls and columns of stone, but other than the empty pedestal and the jewels twirling in the air in front of her, there really wasn’t much that would deserve the warnings about this place that Impa had given her. That was really why she stayed despite the unnatural chill. There wasn’t much else besides her burning desire to _know_ that held her there.

Frustrated, she stared at the stones. The pedestal upon which they floated had writing on it in an older form of Hylian, but she could make out most of it.

It read: _Ye who owns three Spiritual Stones, stand with the Ocarina of Time and play the Song of Time._

She frowned, reaching a hand up to brush a stray lock of red hair behind her right ear, the skin of her wrist rubbing against the rough fabric of the satchel she’d carried with her everywhere since… since as long as she could remember. She stared at the stones, wishing they would help her remember anything, anything at all. While living with Impa had been enjoyable and educational, it often disturbed her that a good chunk of her memories was missing.

Most of the earlier ones were still there, the memories of her younger brother and twin sister (both of which were presumed dead after an accident at the Zora Waterfall), of her mother and father. But the memories of her early preteen years of nine and ten were blank or blurred. Her mother had died during those years and her father had disappeared during an attack on Kakariko. It had become exceedingly frustrating every time she had asked Impa about it, since Impa refused to say anything about them.

“So these are the Spiritual Stones?” she asked to the eerie silence of the Temple. That disturbed her a bit: it was too quiet here.

The stones that glittered in the air had to be the Spiritual Stones she’d read about. What else could shine with such a radiance and give off such sensations of love, strength, and compassion? 

She reached out for one; the blue one that radiated compassion, and a sudden spark of energy shot through her hand. Not enough to be painful, she realized as she jumped back, but there was enough force behind it to serve as a warning. These stones were not to be touched.

Running a hand through her hair, she sighed as she stepped back from the pedestal a couple of paces. She should have known there was some sort of spell protecting the stones. How stupid of her not to think of it…

“But why are they here?” she wondered aloud. “The guardians of the forest, mountain, and river should have them, if the texts are correct.” If she remembered correctly and the inscription on the pedestal held true, the three Spiritual Stones were one of the keys to opening the Door of Time. 

“A door that is no longer locked,” she muttered quietly to herself, “but why?”

She glanced at the inscription again and nearly died of embarrassment and aggravation. The Ocarina! Someone must have played it! But what… the Song of Time? 

Who still knew what the notes to the song even were? The last person who would know might have been Princess Zelda from seven years past, but since the siege, no one knew whether or not she was still alive. Impa might, but she probably wouldn’t say that she knew anything even if her life depended on it. She was a servant of the Royal Family (or at least she had been when there was still a Royal Family to serve) and that was what they were required to do.

The girl cringed as a bolt of pain lanced through her temple, spreading through her nerves and triggering the electrical impulses of her heart to beat faster in reaction to the sting. 

A slight haze fell over her vision for a moment as– 

_… then he played a short melody with the instrument. A large door opened to reveal a sparkling sword. He ran up to it, picked it up, and…_

–she shook her head to clear it. What was that?

She didn’t have time to think about it much because she heard something move against the carpet behind her. She whirled around, her cloak wrapping around her protectively. Seeing no one, her hands slowly reached for the daggers beneath the light shirt fabric around her wrists, softly calling out while her eyes scanned the shadows for illusions.

“Who’s there?”

Her vision snapped to the corner of a pillar to her right: someone tall and slim stood in the darkness. “Who are you?” the girl whispered hotly, fingers finally finding the edges of the daggers beneath her cloak.

The figure walked into the light, dressed in the traditional Sheikah garb with only a bright shock of blonde hair bleeding over his cowl and obscuring one eye, the eye still visible to anyone watching him glaring a sharp intelligent red, with a golden harp strapped to his back. The person then asked her in return, “Why are _you_ here?” 

“Sheik,” she hissed. “Did you follow me here? No one was supposed to see me!”

A fine golden eyebrow rose in interest. “No, I did not follow you,” the young man called Sheik replied with a slight degree of humor lacing his tone, “but unlike you, I am actually supposed to be here. Although…” he trailed off as his expression become distant and thoughtful, “perhaps you were meant to be here for this.” 

“For what?” the girl asked in return. “Enough riddles!” 

Instantly Sheik’s distant expression returned to the present and focused on her. “So… Impa does not know you are here?” She frowned at him. “Of course not! I snuck out.” He chuckled at her brash indignation, finding its childishness amusing while he gestured to her with one hand. “So where does she think you are?” He paused a moment to indulge himself at her expense, watching her face pale at some realization that he may or may not have implied. Something to do with Impa, certainly. 

But he had work to do, and if she was to be present he needed her in the shadows, where the Sheikah were meant to be. 

“Come,” he commanded lightly as he approached her and grasped her by the shoulders, “if you really want to know what this place was here for then I shall show you.” He led her down the long corridor but stopped just short of the threshold. Here he whirled on her, and her initial fright turned to irritation when she realized he was trying to intimidate her. “That’s not going to work,” she told him sternly, “it hasn’t since we were children. What is it that you want me to do?”

Sheik’s half hidden gaze turned to smug amusement.

“You’re smarter than I give you credit for,” he said casually in reply, “so I am only going to say this once.” Here his gaze turned sharp and menacing, and though she knew she gave no outward sign of her fear she felt it race through her heart all the same.

“Stay here in the shadows where you won’t be seen. That way everything will go to plan and you will get the answers that you seek.”

Then he turned away from her as she slunk back into the shadows of the hallway where she waited, blending in with the sharp line of the darkness as he walked some paces toward the pedestal, muttering things to himself. Some sort of speech, she thought. Finally he looked back at her with his visible eye over his left shoulder, directing his words to her while she stewed in her bitter resentment. 

“Be careful what you ask for, Verida. Sometimes answers only lead to more questions.”

And then he was gone, jumping up against the walls of the chamber to roost in the rafters high above. Though she could no longer see him and he was most definitely out of her range of hearing it mattered little for she could still hear the excited whisper that issued from his lips: “It’s time.”

When the seals of the sages began to glow and a circle of light spilled from the pedestal to engulf them within its circumference, a thrill of that same excitement fluttered in her breast. Suddenly remembering the texts that Impa had read as a supplement to her instruction she instantly she knew what was happening but she could not believe that she was witness to its completion, nor that this place to which she had been forbidden to go could hold such a wondrous secret. 

Light reached from floor to ceiling, the blue-white colors flooding the room and making the stained glass windows above sparkle with color that splattered itself all over the walls. Slowly the light began to fade and dissipate into the crisp, silent air, leaving behind nothing but a young man pulling a brilliant, shining blade from the pedestal where once there had been nothing, sheathing it into the blue and gold casing strapped beneath the shield that bore the phoenix symbol of the fabled Hylian Knights of legend. 

There was a slight pause in which the entire world held its breath, and it was then that the girl was very glad she could not be seen. The young man moved just then and the world around her seemed to fill itself with life: breathing with a warm vigor that had not been present when she’d entered the Temple an hour ago. He turned around, and it was then that Verida got her first good look at the Hero of Time, and it was not the picture that most of the predictions had painted him.

He was indeed tall and muscular, with the long ears that identified him as Hylian. He also wore the shield of the Knights, but he could have gotten it anywhere. The similarities stopped there, however, as his wide blue eyes were too innocent and clouded with deep thoughts she could not discern the origin of. Bright blond hair spilled onto his shoulders from beneath a long green hat stitched thickly with dark green thread. He wore a soft green tunic with chain mail, gauntlets, and boots, but his clothing hung loose upon his gangly frame, making him look very much like a child inside the body of an adult.

The Hero of Time was about to take a step toward her and the hallway, though he seemed very hesitant about doing so before something drew his attention and also the Master Sword from its sheathe. 

“Who are you?” his voice trembled, laced with fear but mixed with determination. 

It was an echo of the same question that she had addressed to Sheik only moments ago, and judging by the soft echo of a chuckle she heard from within the shadows she knew that the significance was not lost on Sheik himself. 

“I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time... I am Sheik.”

The young man frowned at him, but lowered his sword.

“Are you the person I was told would be waiting for me?” His voice was stronger now, but still low and wary, rising and falling in awkward pitches. 

“I am,” Sheik replies without hesitation. “So if you know of me, you know that when evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call those destined to be Sages, who dwell in the five temples.” Verida stared, watching Sheik recite the words he’d been muttering to himself minutes ago. She had been right about it being a speech. 

“One in a deep forest... one on a high mountain... one under a vast lake... one within the house of the dead... one inside a goddess of the sand... together with the Hero of Time, the awakened ones will bind the evil and return the light of peace to the world. This is the legend of the temples passed down by my people, the Sheikah.” The young man nodded slowly. “Yes, I was told of this…” 

Sheik nodded, appearing glad that he had gotten something right. “As I see you standing there,” he murmured in awe, “holding the mythical Master Sword, you really do look like the legendary Hero of Time...” 

The young man scowled. “I’m no hero, I’m just–” 

“You are if you believe the legend,” Sheik brushed him away with a wave of his hand. “You have no choice.” He fixed the young man with that same hard stare he’d given the girl moments ago. “You _do_ believe the legend, do you not?”

There was a soft sigh and a light tinkling that sounded like bells. It was only then that Verida realized that there was a small ball of light floating just above the young man’s right shoulder. She frowned, wondering what it was. It looked like… a fairy?

“I have no choice, apparently…” he said in reply, somewhat visibly disgruntled. 

“There is always a choice, Hero.” The young man frowned again, probably confused by Sheik’s contradicting words. “I have a name, you know.” Sheik chuckled. “And what, pray tell, is this name?”

“Link,” the young man said tersely.

Sheik nodded, overlooking or simply ignoring his brevity. “Well then, Link, you must look for the five temples and awaken the five Sages...” And then Sheik’s words disappeared into the air as Verida’s thoughts consumed her.

That name…. Link. It was… familiar somehow. And what was it about that–

_… a boy clothed in green with a smattering of wild blonde hair sprouting from underneath his short green hat, and a little blue…_

–fairy that reminded her so much about that boy? Wait… what boy? Verida winced, another shot of pain flashing across her temples. She bit down on her lip to keep from crying out, but unlike the last time the pain did not subside. She pressed her body against the wall, seeking its coolness, but Link’s presence had somehow chased it all away and there was only warmth to be found. Meanwhile, Sheik was still speaking to Link, who was standing half towards Sheik and half towards the exit. 

“Unfortunately, equipped as you currently are, you cannot even enter the temple... but, if you believe what I'm saying, you should head to Kakariko Village.”

Kakariko Village… that was where–

_… she ran through the burning village until she came to… which was engulfed in flames. She found… under a pile of rubble and half burnt two by fours…_

-she’d been found by… Link?

“Link,” she gasped, tumbling out of the shadows. Flashes of memories flitted in the back of her mind, sharp and sensory and hard to piece together. She could dimly make out Sheik’s panicked, “Verida? What are you doing? I told you–” “–Verida?” 

This last voice was Link’s. Verida looked up, formally meeting the Hero of Time at last. 

She realized then that the vision she’d had earlier was not a vision at all, but a shred of a memory long buried in her mind. The wide blue eyes of the child that looked down upon her were exactly that, despite his young adult appearance. 

“Verida, is that you?” Link asked; his face transformed by a gleeful eagerness. 

“Do I… know you? No, I must know you. I do! Ahh…” She held a hand to her head as the pounding of her blood began recede, and she sighed with relief. “I saw you draw the sword, didn’t I? Seven years ago?” A slight smile forced her lips to curl upwards. She had remembered something!

“Well yes,” Link laughed softly, “I should hope it was you. I wouldn’t like to know that I was protecting someone other than a dear friend from the wrath of the Evil King.” 

Verida grimaced again as another soft throbbing exposed another shard of a memory.

_… from the new figure that was approaching. It was a black-clad man with an evil aura around him…_

“I… I remember that,” she replied slowly. “But… dear friend? I don’t… we were friends?” She looked up, and upon seeing the crestfallen shock that was creeping into his face she began to stammer incessantly. “I – I mean to say that I – I just can’t remember! It’s m-my memories, you see… mmph!” Someone held up a finger to her lips. It was the soft skin of Link’s fingertips that poked out from underneath the fabric of his gloves.

“It’s all right,” he said to her. “My memories of that time are somewhat jumbled as well. Please forgive me for assuming that yours would not be.”

Verida nodded. “Of course.” 

Had not Sheik cleared his throat at just that moment then two of them might have stood there talking about nothing for all of eternity. 

“Excuse me, Hero–” 

“Link,” he corrected, turning around to scowl at Sheik, which made Verida grin a little in amusement. Sheik sighed, exasperated. “Link…” he said, tone flat with a touch of severity, “you cannot dawdle here. That sage is not going to wait for you to catch up with a friend. Head for Kakariko as I said, and quickly! Time is of the essence.”

Link, who had now turned his full attention to Sheik again, folded his arms indignantly. 

“And where is it in Kakariko that I am supposed to look? I can’t very well go asking every villager I happen across about something that will get me into the Forest Temple.”

Sheik was silent for a moment before replying with a grumbling; “I heard that you can find interesting things in the graveyard sometimes. Try moving around some of the gravestones.” He shot Verida a scathing look that was probably meant for Link that all but screamed, ‘Are you happy now?’

Apparently not, since Link sighed and muttered something that sounded an awful lot like, “Stupid Sheikah and their stupid riddles,” under his breath before turning back to Verida. 

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t stay. Do you think we can meet again sometime?”

Verida frowned thoughtfully. “Perhaps tonight at twilight in front of the Kakariko Library, if I can ever get away from Impa. I’m… kind of… not supposed to be here.” A little ways away Sheik gave something that sounded like a snort, at which Verida turned on him a shot a contemptuous, “Shut up, you!” in his general direction.

She turned back to Link. “If I’m not there by the time night falls, don’t wait for me. Sheik is right, your task _is_ more important than the two of us catching up. Promise me that you won’t wait if I’m not there?” When Link didn’t answer right away she grasped the green fabric of his tunic’s collar and pulled him closer. “Promise me!” she said again, with more emphasis on her words. It was only after a few moments that Link managed a short nod before she let him go.

“Do you swear it?” 

Link sighed, obviously knowing what that meant. “Yes,” he said quietly, “I swear it.”

Then he glanced at Link one last time before giving one of Verida’s slight shoulders a squeeze, turning around in the darkness of the long hallway before trotting down the long carpet out of the Temple. 

Sheik walked up beside her to watch him go; finally looking over at her once he had disappeared beyond the doors. 

“So…” he began slowly, “you actually admitted I was right about something?”

Verida shot him a dry look. “Sheik. This is not about you. Or me. This is about the safety of Hyrule, slaying the Evil King and restoring the Princess to the throne.” Sheik turned to study Verida with some degree of detached approval. “I had almost thought you incapable of being a responsible adult. Perhaps I was wrong about that as well.”

“Not quite,” she sighed unhappily; tone heavy with apprehension, “I _did_ still sneak out of the house this morning. Not even in my wildest dreams could such an oversight occur to Impa. It’s highly likely that I’ll have consequences to face when I return to the house.”

“But at least you’re willing to suffer them, are you not?” Sheik replied with a lofty grin. “As if I have a choice?” she shot back somberly. Sheik chuckled darkly. 

“There is always a choice, Verida.”


	2. A Hero's Aid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link acquires the Hookshot and spends some time in the library. Verida goes to receive Impa's punishment, and their conversation sets in motion events that put her and Link on the road to Lon Lon Ranch. Whilst there, Epona and Malon are set free and the journey to the Kokiri Forest begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was not part of the original fanfic, and is thus new material written for the purposes of story revision.
> 
> I've also taken the liberty of referencing things such as an edited version of the Dewey Decimal system and moving clocks - specifically those such as the ones present in Majora's Mask. While the game is set in a medieval time period, it is also a fantasy world which I can bend to my will in whatever ways I like. Enjoy!

As Verida was walking up the steps to Impa’s house, she saw the door open immediately. With a shock of fear lancing through her, she stood stock still while she waited to see who it was. But upon seeing that it was Impa’s assistant, Miss Anju, coming out to sweep the dust from the inside, Verida relaxed a little. Anju happened to look up at that moment, for it was unlikely that she could have heard Verida’s steps, and she waved to her in greeting.

“Good afternoon, Verida!” she called sweetly as Verida closed the gap between the two of them, the dirt and grass crunching beneath her boots.

“Good afternoon, Miss Anju,” Verida replied in kind, “is it really so late?”

“That depends,” said a voice from behind Miss Anju, “on what you consider to be late.” Miss Anju, not at all surprised by the sudden intrusion, simply stepped out of Impa’s way and continued her sweeping. Living under the roof of the leader of Kakariko was almost conditioning enough for the everyday goings on of their household, but upon Impa’s adopting two young Sheikah children seven years ago she had become increasingly tolerant of people appearing and disappearing from the shadows at random times in the day.

Verida’s face fell a little, but she steeled herself for whatever was to come.

“Good afternoon, Lady Impa.” Verida offered reverently with a slight bow, hoping it would soften whatever punishment Impa had prepared.

Impa was exceedingly tall for a woman, clothed in a light breastplate of silver over a tight but tough dark blue tunic that left none of her form to the imagination. Straps for a sword sheathe were wound down from her chest to wrap around past her waist, though no sword was attached to her person just then. And while her features were sharp with the mature youth of adulthood, teardrop tattoos printed underneath her red eyes softened them with the wisdom of an elder, and the short hair above them that was bound in a small horsetail gleamed white in the afternoon sun.

“Perceptions of time can change when one does not adhere to their habits,” Impa said slowly, “but… let us take this inside.” Impa’s dark eyes flickered as they caught Verida’s, and the girl nodded as she followed the elder Sheikah.

Once they had walked far enough into the house they turned a corner into a small kitchen that was used to prepare the everyday meals for the permanent members of the household. Inside there was a small table centered among the cabinets and cooking implements with a few wooden stools placed around it. Impa gestured for Verida to sit, which she did, staring at Impa intently as she waited for whatever speech or interrogation she had prepared.

Finally Impa turned to her with one fine silver eyebrow raised in a peculiar blend of deliberation and curiosity.

“I know you snuck out of the house this morning,” she began carefully, “though I will applaud you on doing so without my notice. I honestly did not even realize you were gone until you did not show up this morning for breakfast. I do wonder why you did not intend to sneak back in as you had snuck out…” she left her sentence trail, by way of asking for an explanation.

“Have I not tried to more times than this?” Verida answered her mentor with a question of her own. “As I have yet to devise a way of sneaking back _in_ that _would_ go unnoticed by you, I figured it would be best to face the consequences head on rather than try to hide from them.”

Impa’s thin lips twitched upwards in a smile.

“A veritable theory. However, as you have alluded to… consequences for your deviation of your usual practices, I can’t help but wonder at the reference.” Here her eyes turned sharp as she locked her gaze with Verida’s.

“Where did you go that would warrant such consequences?”

There was a slight tilt of her head and a dark hint of warning hidden within Impa’s carefully worded praise. Verida noticed this and remembered with startling clarity that it was always unwise to entertain the thought of lying to a Sheikah, for they could often tell truth from falsity. Falling back on her earlier resolve, Verida took a deep breath to sort out her thoughts before returning Impa’s piercing, steady gaze.

“I went out to the Temple of Time today.”

Impa’s relaxed posture immediately straightened as she stepped away from the counter and stood across from Verida; instantaneously becoming tense and anxious. “Even though I have expressively forbidden you to ever go there without my permission?” she prompted, irritation and barely restrained anger lacing every syllable.

Verida nodded, only uttering a simple, “Yes, Impa,” in return.

“And what did you see?” The question had only come after a long moment of precious silence. Verida knew she had to tell Impa everything, though she wondered at exactly how much she knew.

“At first, I saw nothing,” she began, recounting slowly as though wading through the mists of a dream, “it was just a big, cold temple with an empty pedestal and three floating stones. I thought that you might have warned against my coming because of the ReDeads, but then it occurred to me it would be strange that you would worry about me being eaten when you’ve taught me how to avoid them. So I thought it might have something to do with the stones.” Impa seemed to relax slightly.

“And did you try to touch them?” she asked Verida sternly.

Verida nodded. “Just the Spiritual Stone of Water, but when I did it shocked me – not enough to be painful – but there was enough energy in it to serve as a warning not to try again. So I didn’t. And then… I remembered something.”

Her voice grew distant, and apprehensive, allowing Impa to study the girl’s face. It was confused, almost pained, as if the memory hurt to think about. She glanced over the magic that she had noticed on Verida when she had happened upon her in the Temple seven years ago, only to find that the bindings of whatever had kept the spell in place were now beginning to unravel.

“What was it that you remembered, child?”

She had hoped to bring Verida back to the present with the use of her pet name for the girl, but it did not have the desired effect.

“I thought it was a vision at first, because it hurt… a vision of a boy in green playing the Song of Time and drawing the Master Sword from the pedestal… but… then Sheik appeared.” Impa stilled again. “Sheik.” She said quietly, in a low voice. She _had_ sent him, but she hadn’t intended for Verida to be there when Sheik arrived at the Temple.

A little of the Verida she knew came back to the present just then, as she blushed slightly with embarrassment and her voice became tinged with frustration.

“I thought you had sent him to follow me after I had left, so I didn’t have time to dwell on it. We argued for a little bit about whether or not you knew I was there and who was _actually_ supposed to be there….” She frowned, glaring at the memory of Sheik’s witty banter. Impa almost smiled, knowing how the two of them interacted when one of them had done something she disapproved of. But her amusement was short-lived, as Verida was not yet finished.

“It wasn’t until Sheik finally told me that he had business there and that if I _was_ going to be present for it then he needed me out of sight.”

She paused, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head.

“Well, he didn’t say that in so many words, but I could tell he was thinking it. After he put me in the shadows where I wouldn’t be seen, he proceeded to mutter things to himself as he paced before the empty pedestal for sometime before looking back at me and telling me that sometimes answers will only bring about more questions and disappearing into the rafters above.”

Verida appeared to slip back into the distant young woman for a moment before shaking her head again as though trying to shake the clouds from her eyes so that she could concentrate.

“I watched as the symbols of the sages began to glow and then another circle radiated outward from the pedestal to encompass them. I realized then exactly what the Temple of Time was, and what I was witnessing. Once the light was gone, the only thing that remained was the Hero of Time.” She turned to Impa then, traces of hurt and distress in her bright eyes. “Was that why you didn’t want me to be there? Because of the Hero?”

Impa blinked, almost stunned at the change in Verida. “No, child… that wasn’t the reason. If you ask this because you think that you were unworthy of witnessing the descending of the Hero, you are not. That some design beyond my control intended for you to witness his coming is proof of that.”

Verida seemed to relax then, and she inclined her head in thanks before continuing her account.

“My first thought was that he did not appear to be the Hero that most of the legends depicted. He wielded the Master Sword, and was tall and muscular with the ears that mark us as Hylian, but the similarities stopped there. As Sheik spoke to him, I saw that he appeared almost like a child in an adult’s body with the way his tunic and gear hung on him. I also learned his name.”

And here, Verida’s frame shook at another of those painful memories, and she did not shake herself to clear the hurt away.

“His name is Link. When… I heard this; I remembered something else. You know, from _that_ time. The memories that… I could never recall. The ones I’ve always asked you about.” She stared intently at the table, looking terribly small and frightened despite that she herself was only half a head shorter than Impa and her frame, while slight, was not waif-ish in the least.

“I knew him, Impa. I knew him as a child.” She looked up at Impa with a pleading curiosity that tore at Impa’s heart. “Did you know this?”

Impa thought back to that time when the days were still bright and her heart had felt young. She remembered Verida’s father talking to her about his daughter’s new friend: a boy from the forest. She hadn’t ever really made the connection, but now?

“I think so,” she said at last, “though I hadn’t thought the boy from the forest that your father mentioned would be the same boy that had appeared to the princess with the Spiritual Stone of Forest.” She sighed deeply, resting her back against the wall. “Why do you want to know?”

Verida hesitated for a moment, but breathed in once after closing her eyes and answered her shortly after opening them again.

“Because… he _recognized_ me. At least he did after I stupidly stumbled out of the shadows when the pain of the memories forced me to. And upon remembering that he was my friend, I also remembered” –and here she shuddered– “that he had protected me from Ganondorf as he was leaving the castle town after the siege to look for you.” She looked down at her hands, half lost in memory, half angry and frustrated.

“It bothers me terribly that I can’t remember more about him, but Sheik reminded him that he needed to head to Kakariko for something to help him reach the Forest Temple before we could talk further.”

Verida ran a hand through her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders.

“He did ask if we could meet again before he left.” Impa felt one of her eyebrows raise in curiosity. “And what did you say?”

Her face paled a little.

“I am not certain whether or not I said it because I wanted to or because I was prompted to, but I promised him that I would meet him at the library before night fell. I also told him that if I couldn’t be there by that time, then he should move on since his task is more important than reuniting with a friend. Or recovering more of my memories…” The color returned to Verida’s face, and at last the girl Impa was used to settled in Verida’s features again.

Impa studied Verida’s stubbornly fierce expression for some time, noting the fire behind her red eyes that had not been there before today. It smelt of magic: wild and restless. Whatever the lock on Verida’s memories had been keeping in, it was now coming out at last. While not particularly strong, Impa could sense that it would be a force to reckoned with at the height of its strength, and it would not be wise to let it fall into disuse.

Deciding to test her theory, Impa posed a question.

“Let us say that if I hadn’t known about your sneaking out,” she began. “Would you have gone out to meet him?” Verida nodded without hesitation.

“Barring some other will of the Goddesses, yes.”

Impa frowned. “Would you have joined him on his quest?” This answer came a little slower than the first, but it came with the same honesty that Verida had relayed her story with. “If he asked it of me, I would have. I might even insist if he didn’t.”

Just one more question would do it to affirm her suspicions, Impa thought.

“And if I were to keep you here as a punishment for disobeying me… would you still try to find a way to him?”

Verida frowned, tilting her head warily. “Yes,” she said simply.

Impa sighed. She was right. Keeping the girl here would do no good, even if she _did_ know a way to teach her how to control her coming sorceress powers. Verida would have to learn as she went, but if the two of them managed to survive the horrors of the Forest Temple, they would eventually have to come back to Kakariko to reach the Fire Temple in the mountains.

“So go, Verida. Far be it from I to keep you from honoring your promises.”

The girl looked almost shocked as her expression instantly transformed from determination to bewilderment.

“You’re not… going to punish me?” she asked in disbelief. Impa shook her head. “No, I am not. But consider this; the Hero will head to the Forest Temple as you’ve said. Many dangers lie in wait there now that seven years have passed under the rule of the Evil King. I may not punish you for going to the Temple of Time against my wishes, but can you tell me honestly that such a journey will not be a greater hardship?”

Verida scoffed lightly. “Of course I can! The dangers you speak of are but the slaying of monsters and dispelling of darkness… to me, it is the knowledge that I have disappointed someone that is the greater hardship.” At this, she faltered, and looked up once more at Impa with pleading eyes.

“Am I forgiven, then? Despite my foolishness and disregard for your order?”

Impa blinked, once more stunned by the girl’s honesty. She sighed, realizing at last that while some wild magic had been awakened inside Verida’s heart, she was not ruled by it. Whether she was aware of it or not, Verida operated _with_ the nature of her magic rather than for it, though whether this was by accident or some design of the Goddesses she could not tell. At last, she smiled softly at Verida to assure her that she was indeed forgiven.

“You have no need to worry about that. I only ask that when the two of you return that you come back and check in with me. That should be a sufficient enough assurance.”

Verida nodded, sliding off of her stool to stand before Impa with a soft smile.

“Thank you so much. Is there anything else you would have me do?”

Impa’s lips turned upwards in a sly grin.

“Yes. If you _are_ going into the forest, you may need more than just your daggers to defend yourself. I would ask that you take a sword and short-staff with you, just in case. Some gauntlets, and a binding for that hair of yours: it will be used against you in battle if it isn’t bound.”

Verida seemed excited at last of the prospect of going with Link on his quest, but the mentioning of the short-staff made her pause.

“Why a short-staff, Lady Impa? I’m not a sorceress!”

Impa shook her head. “No, you are not, but both of your parents were powerful magicians in their own right. You have recently come of age, and while you have been using Sheikah magic since I took you in, you have yet to show any sign of coming into your inheritance. It shouldn’t be long, and I wouldn’t have you without some sort of channel to help you should you come into your inheritance when I am not around.” She flashed her charge with a fully-fledged grin.

“Now come, let’s get you suited up.”

* * *

It had taken Link some time to find the library after his… encounter with Dampé’s ghost. He and Navi (his guardian fairy) were both in agreement that, even dead, the man had some serious issues. But by the time he found it, there was still much time until sundown. So, he went inside.

There were a few people milling about, including a young man with black hair talking to the elderly librarian at the front desk. Link didn’t feel like speaking with anyone at that moment – he didn’t like to speak much at all if he could help it – so he wandered down the rows until he came to a large book with titles and numbers that was set on a table next to many cabinets full of cards.

“Maybe we should look for something that might help you get more acquainted with your new body?” The little fairy suggested from her place on his shoulder as he flipped through the pages, looking for something that might interest him. He paused, blushing fiercely even though his mind told him that it was a perfectly honest request. It wasn’t actually that bad of an idea, so he flipped back to the front of the book, looking for any titles on ‘anatomy.’

Upon finding a few, he memorized their numbers quickly and went looking for them among the rows, finally finding them coupled together.

He chose the biggest one and went to a vacant booth by one of the nearby windows and sat down to read it, thanking the Goddesses that Saria had the foresight to teach him his letters, though he wasn’t yet sure how well he could write with his adult hands. They seemed to wield a sword well enough, but even that was sometimes nerve-wracking still.

Before long though, Link became engrossed in the book. Anatomy fascinated him, of both kinds – male and female. And, while he did blush about a few of the sections on reproduction and puberty, he made himself read every word so that he didn’t miss a thing. He didn’t have the luxury of having parents to teach him these things (at least that’s what he told himself), so it was up to him to teach himself.

He was startled from his reading though when someone nearby cleared their throat. “Um, excuse me sir?” The voice was young, but decidedly male.

Link looked up.

It was the young man he’d seen earlier, the one with the long dark hair. Now he could see that his features were very fine and accentuated by his startling bright blue eyes. If either of them had made a habit of looking at their reflections more often they might have noticed the similarities of their features, but as they had not, the thought never occurred to them. The young man did narrow his eyes at Link for a moment, but shook his head to chase away the thought.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I thought I’d let you know that the library will be closing soon. You looked so into your book that I thought you might not notice.” He offered Link a smile, and Link nodded fervently in thanks.

“Thank you. I hadn’t realized that it was getting to be so late.”

The dark-haired young man looked over his shoulder at the book he had been reading. His gaze flickered briefly to his sword and shield, but as the young man had a set of his own, he didn’t appear to think much of it. “So… anatomy, huh? I was wondering what could be so interesting.” He smirked. “I’ve not read that particular volume yet, but I may have to when I’m here next.” He looked up at the large wooden clock on the nearby wall and jerked his head in the direction of the door.

“Just put the book in the return bin when you leave. The librarians will take care of it.” He offered his hand to help Link up, which he took gratefully. Something flashed across Link’s vision, a flash of magic he could not discern, but it felt more friend than foe so he let the matter alone.

Putting the book in the return box as he had been advised, he and the young man exited the library as the faint darkness of twilight began to glow.

“Thank you for letting me know the time,” Link said again, “or else you’re right that I might not have noticed. A friend and I are to meet here just before dark, and so I was merely reading to pass the time.” The young man nodded. “Right. I know how that is. So, do you frequent the library here?” Link shook his head. “Not really, but I might pay it a couple more visits in the near future.”

He paused to glance over at his companion. “By the way, I didn’t get your name.” The young man blinked and chuckled softly. “I’m sorry, that was my fault. I’m Shadow, by the way.” He held out a hand so that they could shake.

“And you?”

“Link,” he replied, taking Shadow’s hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

And truly it had been. Usually he was not quite so prone to conversation as he was just now, especially with strangers. Perhaps it was something about this stranger in particular that made him feel comfortable to talk to.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Shadow said, only to be interrupted by the elderly librarian letting out the rest of the stragglers before locking the door and bidding them a good night. The two of them nodded to the man in return before returning to their conversation.

“It looks like it’s time to go,” Shadow said quietly, “and I really should be going. My… father expects me home soon.” At this last remark Shadow became quiet and pensive, and Link could respect that. “Well don’t let me keep you. I have my own appointments to keep.” Shadow quickly nodded his thanks. “It really was nice meeting you,” he said with a gentle smile.

“I hope we meet again.”

Link nodded to the young man as he walked off, heading for the path down to the trailhead and out of town.

It was only moments later that he heard another set of footprints approaching him and his attention shifted sharply towards the sound. He smiled, his gaze coming to rest upon Verida, hair bound in a tightly braided bun at the base of her neck, clothed in a dark blue tunic with a light coat of mail beneath, tan half-gloved gauntlets on her hands, and her khaki pants tucked into sturdy walking boots. Over this she wore a brown traveling cloak, under which he could glimpse a sword and a satchel, and she carried a similar one in her hand.

She offered it to him.

“I noticed you didn’t have one when I saw you at the Temple. So… I brought one with me.” Link blinked, taking it from her gingerly.

“But… why? I thought you just wanted to talk.” He tilted his head at her, slightly confused. “Well,” she said slowly, looking kind of guilty and somewhat sheepish, “Impa was kind of the one who taught me how to sneak out of places anyway, so I didn’t see the point of sneaking back in.”

Impa. Why was that name so familiar?

“Impa… as in the Princess’s attendant?” Verida blinked at him. “How did you know that?” He shrugged. “I sort of snuck into the palace to see the Princess when the Deku Tree gave me the Emerald and told me to find her. She helped me sneak out again.” He shot her a pointed look. “You mean that Impa? She knows about you… being here?”

Verida nodded slowly, glancing around to see if anyone was around to listen in on their conversation. There didn’t appear to be, but she brought them closer to the side of the building just in case.

“Yes,” she said finally, “she knows. She’s a Sheikah too, Link. But anyway, I wanted to help you, so she let come meet you here before you set off.” He nodded, finally putting the cloak on over his gear, feeling a little more secure now that the bright green of his tunic wasn’t out where everyone could see. There was the matter of his hat, but he really didn’t want to part with it since it had useful magical qualities that would help him carry the things he would need on this quest he’d been saddled with.

He glanced up at the fading light of the sun.

“Do we really need to travel at night? I kind of feel like I haven’t slept in days…” Verida shook her head. “No. I know of an inn nearby that will let us share a room for the night. Probably not for free, unless I can call upon that favor the owner owes me, but it’s not terribly expensive to rent a room for the night.” She grinned. “Can’t have you dead on your feet, Hero.”

He scowled at her. “Not you too…” She giggled, and waved the comment away with her hand. “That’s just Sheik. He’s way too serious for his own good. I’ll try not to call you that terribly often…” Link shot her a dry look.

“I would prefer that you not call me that at all…”

And so their conversation consisted of this light, witty talk as they walked to the inn that Verida directed them towards, a quaint little niche with good smells coming from the kitchen door.

Link stood close to the door while Verida went to talk with the owner, surveying the room and the few people in it. He was surprised, however, to see a familiar mustachioed man sleeping on the counter of the bar at the end of the room, and he went over to investigate before Verida was to come back and fetch him so that they could quit to their room.

“Talon?” He asked quietly as he approached, shaking one of the man’s shoulders for emphasis. “Talon!” he tried again.

The man went snoring on, though. Link groaned, suddenly remembering how hard it was to wake him. As if to accentuate this, the stout older woman with a graying wave of dark hair pulled into a ponytail who served as the barista came over to him once she saw what he was trying to do, shaking her head.

“He won’t wake until morning when the Cucco cries,” she told him simply, “it happens all the time.” Link looked at her pleadingly. “Do you know what happened to him? He’s supposed to be at the ranch…” The barista’s tired eyes looked him over suspiciously. “What? Do you mean Lon Lon Ranch? And why do you want to know? All of the people here have hardships in their past that they’d rather no one found out about. It’s likely this man’s no different.”

“He’s a friend,” Link hissed, sighing with frustration while running a hand through his hair in exasperation.

Wait, hadn’t she said something about a Cucco?

He quickly pulled off his green hat and dug in side, reaching around until his fingers grasped the feathers he’d been looking for, pulling it out while setting his hat on the counter. The barista looked at him curiously. “What on earth…?” Link shook his head. “Don’t ask. The thing wouldn’t leave me alone even when I tried to get rid of it. By the way, do you have a knife?”

Verida came up just then after spotting Link at the bar, a little confused as to why he was there. “Um, Link?” she asked as she caught the tail end of the conversation, “I have a dagger, but…”

“That’ll work,” he said, holding out a hand.

Verida looked at him curiously, though she did hand him one of her daggers. She almost regretted it, because then he’d used the blade to cut the Cucco he held in his other hand, causing it release its ear-splitting screech. All of the other patrons inside the dining area winced, and Verida sent a shrug by way of apology in the direction of the inn’s owner. Immediately afterwards she turned around, about to demand an explanation, however she was greeted with the sight of Link presenting her dagger back to her whilst stuffing the offending feathered creature back into his hat.

“What in tarnation? Can't a person get a little shut-eye around here?” said the man next to them. She squinted, and then took a step back as she realized that this was Talon, the man who owned Lon Lon Ranch. Or at least… he used to?

Link put his hat back on and turned to Talon.

“I’m afraid not, sir,” he said quietly, as though the business with the Cucco had never happened, “I just wanted to ask you a few questions…”

Talon looked over at him, bedraggled and bleary-eyed.

“I’m sorry son, but… who are you exactly?” Link offered him a small smile. “I didn’t expect you to remember me, but… I believed I helped you round up your Super Cuccos for you when they got out of their pen about seven years ago?” Talon’s eyes lit up. “Oh! You… you’re Malon’s friend!” Suddenly he lurched forward, grabbing Link’s collar from beneath his cloak, almost sending the both of them toppling over their barstools. Up close, Link could smell the tang of alcohol and milk on Talon’s breath, and behind them Verida stood from the seat she’d taken to help catch them if they fell.

That didn’t happen though, because Link was fast enough in reacting and grasped the edge of the bar with his right hand, clamping on it tightly.

“Ingo… do you remember him?” Talon asked hotly, his words crisp and his eyes bright despite the drink that he reeked of. Link frowned, trying to recall the man Talon was asking about. “Um… the scrawny guy with the pitchfork?” Talon nodded fervently. “Yes, him! Ingo took over Lon Lon Ranch though I suspect he’s calling it Ingo Ranch nowadays…” Talon began to grumble a bit and sat back, apologizing for his rash behavior.

“He wasn’t quite so violent until recently… then one day he comes back from fetching the feed all fancily dressed…” Talon shook his head sadly. “Then not long after that I was kicked out of there because I wasn’t doing the managing right… and I understand that _now_ … I just wish I’d seen it sooner.”

Link nodded slowly, trying to process all of what Talon was telling him.

“So… you mentioned… Malon?” Talon sat up straighter, nodding enthusiastically. “Yes! My girl, Malon, still works at the ranch... I'm worried about her...” Talon turned back to the bar and stared intently at his hands, which had clenched into fists. “Before I was fired… I noticed the way he looked at her… she’s a beautiful lady, my daughter, and Ingo’s, well… he doesn’t exactly have the most handsome face in the world.” He turned to Link, grasping his shoulders firmly, an earnest distress in his eyes.

“Please… save Malon. Better yet, if you could get Ingo to see reason again, that would be wonderful, but… Malon needs to get out of there. It’s not safe.”

Link glanced back at Verida.

“Do you mind stopping at the ranch before we head to the forest? I know time is of the essence, but…” He looked back at Talon.

Verida frowned. She hadn’t known this had happened to Talon, and so recently. Usually Impa often kept tabs on those things through Sheik… unless Sheik was doing something else right now. Who knew what his orders were now that Link was awake. Verida finally decided to nod even though Link couldn’t see, figuring that there had to be more that just a change of heart involved in this.

“No, I don’t mind at all. In fact, if we can rent some horses then that would make the travel that much faster.” And so it was settled then that the two of them would depart from Kakariko in the morning and set out a course for the ranch to deal with whatever evil lay in wait for them there.

* * *

When they arrived at the Ranch, it was just a few hours before midday. With the both of them so used to getting up at the crack of dawn along with the Cucco’s call, they woke swiftly and ate quickly so that they could get on the road early to avoid the rush of midday traffic with all the carts and horsemen that came through the large town each day.

With the castle market in ruins, Kakariko had essentially become the center of Hyrule’s trade routes and tradesmen – almost overnight since the siege. Most of the people tended to behave as though nothing was wrong, but the constantly heavy and changeable taxes placed on the major highways and increase of monster attacks after dark on the low roads never failed to remind them of the reason for the change in the roads they took.

So getting out early was always the best option if you wanted to pick which way you were going to travel without using the flow of traffic to help your decision along.

Once at the ranch, however, both Link and Verida noticed that some strange evil had fallen upon the air, a dark magic that neither of them could put their fingers on. “Where did Talon say Malon was being held again?” Verida whispered as they passed through the ranch gate. Link frowned, searching for the door Talon had referenced, pointing to one on their right.

“The stables. Is Ingo in there with her?”

Suddenly there was a great crash from beyond the wrought-iron gate that led to the corral, followed by a loud wailing screech. “No, no, no! Damn that horse! Always knocking stuff down!” Link and Verida exchanged glances, looking back towards the gate apprehensively.

“I’m guessing that… would be no,” Link said at last. Finally he sighed, and shot Verida an earnest glance. “Would you mind looking for Malon if I distract Ingo from coming by the stables?” Verida folded her arms, studying the stables apprehensively. She couldn’t _sense_ any danger within, but that only meant that nothing with magic lay in wait for her.

“I suppose… I’ll try to be quick about it.”

So she padded over to the stable door, slipped inside, and melted effortlessly into the shadows as the door closed behind her. Link stared after her for a minute, but shook his head as he purposefully strode past the iron gates into the wide expanse of the corral.

It… really hadn’t changed much.

With the exception of Malon’s absent singing, everything was the same. The fences around the side and inside of the corral were still there, the horses still ran around, drinking water, munching on feed… Link felt his face flush a little as he noticed one of the studs mounting his mare of choice, and… finally he decided to look away in search of Ingo.

He wasn’t all that hard to find.

As Link approached him, he wondered if the man was possibly color blind, since he knew next to nothing about how to match his clothing. He also had to possess the most horrifying wardrobe that Link had ever seen, and as a child he’d seen a lot of the women in Castle Town wear a lot of strange things. On a man… they looked worse. Especially one so tall and gangly as Ingo.

The aforementioned ranch thief began to eye Link suspiciously as he approached. “Oh? Well, what do we have here? A customer?" Link thought for a moment, shrugging as he supposed it couldn’t hurt to play along. "Something like that." He replied airily. Ingo laughed, a harsh, barking sound. "Well now… where are ya' coming from?" Link frowned slightly, tilting his head to one side.

"Kakariko. Why?"

Ingo paused and growled quietly, grumbling about something Link couldn’t make out. "Kakariko, huh? Well I'll tell you why: it's because there's a lot of rumors going about right now that cheated Talon out of this ranch!" He plunged his hands into his pants’ pockets and spat off to the side in irritation.

"What a ridiculous notion! That good-for-nothing Talon was weak! I, the hard-working Ingo, was the only one who actually did anything for this place!" Link pretended to look around as though he were impressed with Ingo’s handiwork.

“It’s been a while since I was here last,” he muttered noncommittally, “it does look a bit different from what I remember.”

"Eh?” Ingo spat out, apparently not having heard what Link had said. “Whatever. I just don't want ya' going out and spreading any more of that falsity!" Link glanced back at Ingo and shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t spread rumors, Mister Ingo. That’s not who I am.”

Ingo grinned. "Well now, young man... thanks for that. See, I was actually recognized by the great Ganondorf and given this ranch! So now I'm raising a fine horse just for him, to thank him for giving this ranch to me! Say, would ya like to _ride_ one of these fine horses? Just pay 10 rupees for one minute! It's a steal!" Link frowned, adding up the numbers in his head. It didn’t really sound like a fair deal at all… but he _was_ supposed to be distracting Ingo so that Verida could free Malon from the stables.

So… why not?

Link paid the man the promised amount and Ingo let him in, closing the gates behind them. "All right! Pick any of the horses and just ride! If you’re not that bad of a rider you might even get a chance to race me!"

Once loosed upon the corral, Link scanned the area of horses for one he liked. He didn’t seem to be satisfied with any of the ones that he could _see_ , but… that other horse: was she even still here? Link dug through his hat to pull out a sky blue ocarina marked by a silver band imprinted with a Triforce.

Putting his hat back on, he pressed the instrument to his lips and played the song that Malon had taught him as a child.

The notes of the tune danced across the field to reach the ears of a russet colored mare grazing at the far end of the corral. Upon hearing the sweet music, the mare’s ear twitched, and she paused in her grazing to look for the source of the sound. Eventually her dark horse eyes found the music to be coming from a young man with blond hair and fair skin. Her nostrils flared at the memory of a small child with kind blue eyes that smelled of the forest…

As he was finishing his playing, Link could faintly hear the sound of a horse whinnying over the music. He paused, prying the instrument from his lips to look for the source of the sound, only to be surprised by a large red horse galloping straight towards him. He stilled, bracing for impact, but it never came. Instead the mare reared, braking to a messy stop that forced the flabbergasted Ingo to jump back out of the way of the dirt.

She nuzzled his chest fiercely, eventually pulling back and turning her head to one side so that she could look him in the eye… and Link stared back, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief, until finally he reached up with one hand to scratch the side of her neck, allowing them to relax with love and affection.

“So… you do remember me,” he whispered. He turned to Ingo. “Is my minute up yet?” he asked, his tone cautiously polite.

Ingo, who was leaning against the gate muttering something that sounded an awful lot like, “That song… where have I heard the song before…?” looked up: startled. Once he registered the question he scowled at Link before replying that it was, and Link tossed him another ten rupees.

“I want to ride this one. Just give me another minute.”

Ingo watched the young man as he rode, jumping over the fences and turning the horse around with a kind of expert grace that you had to be born with in order to apply it so effortlessly. Perhaps he really should make good on his offer of a race as a test. After all, that was the _king’s_ horse he was riding…

"Hey, you there!" Ingo barked. Link held his head up at attention. "Yes?"

Ingo grinned. "You're pretty good! How about running a race with me? One lap around the corral with that horse." Link raised one golden eyebrow.

"And… is that it?"

Ingo chuckled. "Well, of course not! I'd say a little wager is in order! How does fifty rupees sound?" Link considered this. Something inside him desperately wanted to pry this horse from Ingo's clutches right away… and maybe this race was the way to do that.

"It's fine with me," he said, following Ingo out of the corral while still mounted on the russet mare.

Meanwhile, inside the stable, Verida slunk through the shadows to see if there was anyone else inside the stables other than the girl, Malon. She still couldn’t sense anyone, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anyone there. Finally, she let herself step on a stick so that the snap would draw the attention of anyone inside, and she heard the girl gasp.

“W-Who’s there?” she asked timidly, chafing at her bonds.

Verida slipped out of the darkness and slowly approached the girl, holding out her hands in surrender.

“It’s okay,” Verida assured her gently, “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to rescue you.” The girl whimpered, but as Verida knelt, she held up a finger to shush her. “Shh! It’s all right…” Malon shook her head.

“No, it’s not…” she whispered in return, “they’re… watching…”

“Who’s watching?” Verida frowned as she used two of her small throwing knives to work at the ropes that bound the girl’s arms and feet, working on them both simultaneously to save time.

“Those women that Ingo brought with him,” Malon whimpered again, “they’re here…” Her whisper acquired a kind of panic to it as it hitched in scale, and suddenly Verida realized what she was dealing with. It was just before her knives cut the last shreds of the girl’s bonds when she heard it, and she quickly threw them blindly in that direction as she whirled around, immediately drawing the short white sword Impa had given her.

Instantly she was forced to block, and then upon sensing the shift in the air above her, rolled towards the door to dodge the second assailant. As she rolled to her feet, she looked up once to make sure no more descended from above and then back at the ones on the ground.

There were only two, muscular women with skin the color of rich soil, wielding double curved blades and wearing thick folds of purple and red silk. It didn’t matter that they wore no armor: these women were fast, and there were two of them against only one of her. They danced around for a bit, Verida slipping through the shadows, trying to lure one away from the other, but they always came together.

Finally she got tired of their dancing and she swung her sword at them, making them jump back at her unexpected lunge. This was the opportunity she sought, for just then one of the was smacked across the head from behind with a large iron pitchfork, and Verida descended upon the other, dropping her sword and drawing one of her daggers from beneath her sleeve as she held the woman close and let the metal rest against the skin of her throat.

“I would suggest…” she said slowly, drawing upon her rarely used powers of compulsion, “that you take your companion and leave this place. You are no longer needed here.”

Once the Gerudo stopped struggling, she turned her head slightly to glare at Verida. For a moment, Verida wasn’t sure that her compulsion had worked – it wasn’t a skill she was terribly proficient in – but she relaxed when the woman simply hissed, “Damn you, Sheikah…” after Verida released her and the Gerudo did as she’d been told.

Verida sighed heavily, pressing herself against a nearby wall to rest.

After taking a few moments to catch her breath, she looked over in Malon’s direction where she still held the iron pitchfork clutched beneath her slender pale hands – the knuckles of her hands almost turning to pure white from either fear or forced pressure.

“You can relax, you know,” Verida said to her, “just keep a good grip on that pitchfork of yours and you’ll be all right.” Malon just blinked at her. “Um… thank you. I guess… did… did someone send you?”

Verida shrugged. “I guess so. My friend and I ran into your father last night and he told us that Ingo was holding you here.” Malon’s face pinched in confusion. “My father? How do you know him?” Verida sighed, pushing herself off the wall to go collect her weapons that were scattered over the stables. “Apparently my friend knew him from seven years ago. I’m not sure how, but… well. We came because he asked us to.”

Malon frowned again, eying the long, curved blade that one of the Gerudos had left behind. Verida was about to say something to her about it as she picked up the last of her wayward knives before the two of them heard a grating wail from outside the stables and distracted them both.

“What's up with that horse?! Is that Epona?” Ingo wailed.

Link glanced at him skeptically, still riding astride the russet mare that was apparently named Epona.

“How did you tame that wild horse right under my nose?! I was going to present that horse to the great Ganondorf... But I bet it on the race and lost! Shooot!” Ingo, who had long since dismounted his own horse, stumbled backwards towards the wrought iron gates, a crazed gleam in his eye.

Before Link realized what it was he was doing, Ingo had the gates swing shut before him, all the while giggling manically as he teased Link by twirling the set of keys from behind the bars.

“Hah ha hah! As I promised, I'll give the horse to you... however... I'll never let you leave this ranch!”

Link paled. Was he really trapped? He stared at the gate for a moment – realizing just then that they had drawings of Ingo’s face imprinted on them for whatever reason – gauging its size. It wasn’t very tall, and he could easily jump it with Epona if he built up enough speed…

He grinned, grasping the mare’s reins. “You won’t keep me here, Ingo!” he shouted, clicking his tongue and snapping the reins to get Epona going.

But something long and sharp caught the edge of his vision before he could get Epona far enough, so he pulled back so she would stop just before the gate, and he watched with a faintly amused smile as Malon, freed from her bonds and wielding a pitchfork like a bat, hit Ingo across the back of his head, knocking something from his ear.

She beat him again after he’d crumpled to the ground for good measure, just to make sure he was unconscious, then she finally handed Verida (who was standing beside her looking slightly disturbed) the pitchfork and took Ingo's set of keys to let herself back into the ranch.

"Hey Malon!" Link called. He dismounted Epona and she returned his sentiments by way of a sisterly hug. "Hey fairy boy. I missed you.” She gave him a light kiss on the cheek and he blushed crimson. She giggled, and that snapped him out of it long enough to scowl at her. “I have a name… you do remember it, right?”

"Of course I do, Link.” She said sweetly. “I just wanted to tease you a little more.” She turned to Epona who was beside them, nuzzling Link’s shoulder fiercely. Malon sighed contentedly. “So, you found Epona again didn’t you… it looks like she’s taken quite the liking to you.”

“Would it be all right if we borrowed her?” Verida asked, still awkwardly holding the pitchfork. Malon turned and noticed her still holding it, and she mulled the request over for a few moments after taking the pitchfork back from her.

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt… Ingo had intended to present her to the king as a gift, but…”

“No,” Link said fiercely. “You can’t give her to him.” Malon smiled at him sadly. “I wasn’t intending to.” She looked at Epona again and sighed. “You might as well keep her. She’s not safe if she stays here.” So finally she turned to Link and nodded in agreement. “Yes, that’s what you should do. I’ll go get you some saddlebags, okay?” He nodded, thanking her as she left.

“Well, now we have transportation,” Verida murmured quietly. Then she noticed Link staring at something in the grass and asked him about it. He frowned, having spotted the thing that had been flung from Ingo's ear moments earlier and he went to pick it up.

It was some sort of gem Verida realized, and she hissed when she sensed the black magic dancing over its dark, swirling surface.

“Destroy it,” she growled, and Link obeyed, glancing at her curiously.

“What was that?” he asked, slightly concerned for her mental health. She frowned at the pieces of it that had been strewn across the dirt when Link had crushed it with his boot. “Some kind of brainwashing device,” she answered, scowling at it. “There was black magic _all_ over it. I suspect that’s what’s been making Ingo act so strange recently.”

It was then that Malon returned with their saddlebags and Link helped her fasten them to Epona’s saddle.

“I’ll make sure to send word to my father that the ranch is safe again,” she assured them, “so don’t worry about him.” Link nodded in thanks. Then Malon turned to Verida and blushed a little, staring intently at the ground while holding her hands behind her back.

“And um… do you think you could come back and teach me to wield a sword some time…?”

“Verida,” she supplied, “my name’s Verida.”

Malon nodded. “I just want to learn, you know? That pitchfork’s all well and good, but I don’t know how well it would last us if any… bandits tried to come here and steal our horses.” Verida nodded. “Just send word in a couple of days to Lady Impa’s house in Kakariko Village. I’ll come back then.”

So she thanked the two of them and began to help a dizzy, half-awake Ingo back into the ranch house as Link and Verida discussed their riding arrangements.

“Well, I don’t have a shield,” she pointed out to him when he suggested that she ride behind him, “and you can still hold the reins if I sit in front.” Link thought it over for a moment and eventually agreed that he would sit behind Verida but still hold the reins and direct Epona’s movements. Finally, once the two of them were situated upon her back, Link clicked his tongue, snapped the reins again, and they were off on the path to the Kokiri Forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember that this is my headcanon (so be gentle!) and that certain events may or may not coincide with the game's canonverse. Things such as the Gerudo in the stable were part of the manga, but I only used two for my own devices, while freeing Epona by racing Ingo is only canon in the game but not the manga.


	3. To the Sacred Meadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After arriving at Kokiri Village, Link and Verida rescue a Kokiri from one of the monsters and learn that Saria has been gone for some time. Link helps them navigate the Lost Woods and finds Mido within, blocking their path. After playing Saria's Song to progress, they make it to the Sacred Meadow and fight their way to the entrance of the Forest Temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the previous chapter, this chapter was not part of the original fanfic, and is thus new material written for the purposes of story revision.

After they arrived at the edge of the Kokiri Forest, Link helped Verida dismount and he led Epona to a spot where the trees were a little thicker and a couple of puddles of water lay scattered about the area for her to drink from and plenty of grass grew there for grazing.

“You do have an idea of where the Forest Temple is, don’t you?” Verida asked Link as they walked further into the brush. He nodded slowly.

“I think so,” he began thoughtfully, “ for I once visited the ruins in the Sacred Meadow where Saria liked to play her Ocarina to the trees…” he sighed with longing at what appeared to be a happy memory. “I’m fairly certain that’s where it is,” he finished.

“Saria…” Verida wondered aloud, knowing in her heart that she should know the face that went with the name, “she had… green hair, didn’t she?” Link glanced back at her as they were approaching a little grove where a rope bridge was carefully hidden. “You don’t remember her either?” he asked in mild disbelief. 

Verida’s face pinched as she winced from a sharp throbbing that pulsed behind her temples when she tried to focus on the face with the wide, gentle green eyes that swam in and out of her thoughts. 

“I _do_ ,” she corrected, “I just… can’t remember her face. I feel terrible; that I should remember her name but not what she looked like.” Verida sighed; about to put her face into her hands but stopping once her eyes caught sight of the rope bridge’s wooden planks not far from where they stood. “I remember this, though,” she whispered in wonderment.

It was true; she did remember this place. 

As a child she used to come here to play with the Kokiri children. Having been told about its location by her father and a gift for speaking to the healing fairies that she sometimes found in odd places around Kakariko, she would sometimes dress up in a green tunic and hat and have the fairy follow her around while she wandered the little village. It was how she had met Link, she suddenly remembered.

Link frowned at the entrance, his gaze dark and distant. Verida touched his right shoulder gingerly and he twitched, looking around momentarily before letting his eyes fall on Verida.

“Oh, sorry I…” he shook his head to clear it. 

When he opened his eyes to look at her again, they were sharp and focused. “I sense that same darkness that we felt at the ranch lurking in there… don’t you feel it?” Verida turned to look at the shadows between the branches past the end of the rope bridge and cast her senses out to search. Upon finding that Link was right, she took a step back and shivered. Finally she turned to look back at Link, only to see that he was studying her with an apprehensive stare.

Realizing what it was he wanted to know, Verida sighed and said to him regretfully, “You know; I haven’t been back since the day you drew the sword. I had two whole _years_ of my memory wiped away, and until I saw you in the Temple, I have neither been able to remember anything of you nor this place…” she turned back to glance at the darkness with a fair amount of skepticism.

“It could be that we might find it untouched, but Impa told me before I left to meet you that the forest has been filling up with more and more of Ganondorf’s servants and other assorted beasts since the siege. So,” she concluded apologetically, “I have no idea what we’ll find in there. I would expect the worst, if you can bear it.”

Link nodded, and finally the two of them walked across the bridge, bracing themselves for whatever they were to witness on the other side.

Darkness enveloped them as they squeezed through the thick boughs and underbrush, suddenly very glad that the both of them were wearing their pants tucked into their boots because of the sharp thorns that snagged against the fabric as they walked. After a few moments of struggle, the pair came upon the familiar sight of Kokiri Village, standing breathless on the edge of the perimeter.

Verida leaned against a nearby tree to catch her breath, staring out across the tall grasses and dirt paths. All was quiet here: too quiet, it seemed. She frowned, noticing several large patches of bright orange flowers and giant weed-like leaves strewn about the area. She touched Link’s shoulder again and pointed towards them.

“Are those… what I think they are?” she asked him pointedly.

Link fidgeted for a moment, but eventually he drew his sword and slid his shield from underneath the traveling cloak and latched it across his right arm. 

That’s right, she thought, Link was _left_ -handed. 

He held the Master Sword aloft before him, slowly approaching the nearest patch of large green ferns that was planted right in the middle of the path. He thought he recognized what it was, but he wasn’t sure… until his boot stepped on a nearby twig and the thing came to life; the ferns opening up for a hole in the ground from which sprung a giant head made of blue petals with… teeth.

It lunged at him, and Link quickly held up his shield in response, feeling his heart beating frantically beneath his chest.

“A Deku Baba!” he hissed between clenched teeth. How on Din’s good earth had they gotten so big in seven years? He dropped his shield and swung in a low circle at the stem, cutting it off, but he scrambled away when it didn’t shrivel up and die as most of them did when he’d killed their smaller cousins. It lunged again from the ground, yellowish black blood smearing the dirt, aiming for his head.

He winced, unable to lift his shield in time and waiting for the heat of the poison and pain of teeth digging into flesh… only to hear a soft thump and a squishing sound followed by a pitiful squealing gurgle that faded away after a few moments. Stunned, Link opened his eyes to see the head mostly cut in half at his feet, a dagger stuck in its flesh.

Verida had seen Link flinch when the Deku Baba’s head had lunged at him, as he probably hadn’t known that the larger ones could still attack you even after they were severed – _how stupid of her not to warn him!_ – and she hadn’t even hesitated in pulling one of her daggers from her sleeves in order to kill it. 

Link stepped away from the head as she walked over; pulling a dark colored cloth from one of her belt pockets, and pulled her dagger out of the still twitching head to clean it. 

“Sorry I didn’t warn you about the Deku Babas…” she muttered to him, “I wasn’t sure if they were the big ones or not…” Link scoffed. “What happened to the small ones?” Verida glanced over at the nearest orange flower, spying a set of beady red eyes staring at her from beneath the large petals. She sighed, gesturing to it with the dagger.

“I guess it was because more Mad Scrubs kept moving into their territory and they had to compete for food… so they got bigger in order to eat some of the other Deku Babas and whatever else came across their path.”

She stared down at the severed head ruefully. 

“Unfortunately, this also makes them a little harder to kill.” She glanced at her dagger and noted that all of the blood had been wiped off and so she put it and her cloth back where they belonged. Link glanced at her skeptically. “Where do you keep all that?” he asked, to which she grinned, “Sorry, trade secret.”

Unfortunately their moment of camaraderie was interrupted by a loud shriek that sounded from nearby, and the two of them ran for the sound, Deku Babas and Mad Scrubs be damned.

Eventually they found the source of the sound: a small Kokiri girl with bright blond hair and a streak of blood smeared on her cheek with a long scratch bleeding profusely on her right arm, which she held against her chest. She was backed against a wall near the waterfall, and a large furry beast with long canines was advancing on her, red staining its claws.

“Wolfos!” Link shouted, and he dug in one of his pockets for a Deku Nut, finally finding one that wasn’t cracked so that he could stun the beast and get its attention. The snap and bright flash made the Wolfos snarl, and it turned on them as Verida was drawing her white short-sword. 

“Go for the back,” a voice chimed in, “it’s vulnerable to attacks!”

Verida looked up to see that same fairy called Navi that she’d seen in the temple fluttering around Link’s head just above them. “Target it for us?” he asked her, for the voice had been decidedly feminine. The fairy chimed again, and began to glow a bright green as she fluttered around the agitated creature.

Link turned to her. “I’ll distract it, you kill it.” Verida wasted no time in doing so, for as Link held up his shield and advanced on the beast, she ran around back where the fairy was flittering up along the spine excitedly. “Here, here!” she chimed. The beast swiped at Link, who blocked the attack, and Verida quickly took the opportunity to slash her sword into the soft flesh and cutting at the base of the spine in order to deal extra damage. The Wolfos fell at their feet, howling piteously until its breathing ceased and it began to disintegrate into blue and white flames.

Another whimper sounded nearby, and the two of them looked up to see the blond Kokiri girl still clutching her arm and the two of them approached her slowly.

“It’s all right,” Verida whispered in the same voice she’d used with Malon earlier, “we’re here to help. Let me bind that wound for you?” The girl stared at her and shook fiercely in her shock, but eventually she managed a nod and Verida again pulled the dark cloth from her belt along with a small roll of white cloth that would be used to stop the bleeding.

Dipping the dark cloth in the water, she wrung it out once before cleaning the blood from the girl’s face and arm as Link stood not far away, studying her face in silence, his brows knit in concentration. Once the cut was clean, Verida wrapped the white cloth around it several times and fastened it so that it would staunch the bleeding quickly as the cut was not deep.

“Thank you,” the girl whispered, scrambling away as fast as she could, but Link turned as she passed him and he called out to her while reaching out with one arm instinctively. “Fado!” he called. The girl paused, turning around to stare at him with wide, curious eyes.

“H-How… how do you know my name?” she asked him.

Link blinked and stared. She didn’t recognize him? Then he remembered… he wasn’t the Link that they remembered. He sighed, shaking his head. “I… never mind. I just wanted to ask… where Saria was. I need to find her.” Fado trembled, taking a few more steps back. “I don’t know. She and Mido went into the Lost Woods three days ago and they haven’t been seen since…” She stared at the ground for a moment before looking back up at Link pleadingly.

“Please, mister… If you see them, please tell them to come back. It hasn’t been safe without them to protect us from the Mad Scrubs and Deku Babas…”

After a few moments Link promised her that he would do so, after which the girl bolted for the nearest house, closing the door quickly behind her. “Mido and Saria gone?” he murmured in disbelief. “We need to get to the Lost Woods… now.” Verida nodded, and asked that Link show her the way.

It turned out that the entrance to the Lost Woods – which was a place Verida _hadn’t_ been to on any of her visits to the forest – was high above the village on a cliffside slope which was only accessible by climbing the vines that grew all over it, and even then the trees and grasses were so thick it was difficult to make it across to the entrance: a large wooden log who’s end Verida could not discern. She frowned at it, unsure of why she couldn’t see the other side.

“Stay close and don’t wander,” Link told her as he removed his shield from his arm to offer her his hand. “If you don’t know the way you’ll disappear and wander the woods forever until you became a Stalfos.” 

Verida shuddered. She’d heard getting lost here would do that to you. Perhaps then it was magic that wouldn’t allow her to see the end of the other side, and that was what chilled her bones and make her skin crawl in terror. Gratefully, she took his hand and clasped it tight, determined not to let go for any reason of her own volition.

So together they walked through and when they came out on the other side, Verida felt as though they’d stepped through into another world. Though daylight filtered in through the thick leaves above, the entire atmosphere around them was dark and misty. And, with the exception of the strange clearing they found themselves in, the trees grew so close together that the only way through the place was to enter any one of the four wooden log entrances set on each of the cardinal points of the compass. 

“Do… do you know the way?” she whispered quietly.

Link nodded. “Mostly. It’s not hard to find it if you know the trick to it. All you have to do is listen for where the music is loudest.” He turned to her and asked her with a firm honesty, “Do you hear it?” 

Verida’s ears pricked at a soft sound that fell upon the misty air around them. 

“Yes,” she said slowly, “I do hear it.” She let go of Link’s hand then, though she did not step away for fear that if she lost sight of him she might lose herself in the darkness of the woods.

“Good,” Link said with a nod, “now follow me.”

Link led her through a series of twists and turns, some with a few landmarks that would be recognizable on their way back, but a few that were not. Eventually they came to the largest clearing yet, one with only three wooden log entrances and a deep pool at the other cardinal point in the center of the clearing. To their left was another entrance, but Link paused when he saw someone pacing in front of it, tugging fiercely at his bright orange hair and wearing a path in the grass.

He was one of the Kokiri – Mido, Verida presumed – and he appeared to be muttering something that sounded like, “Where is she? It’s been three _days_ …” under his breath. On one turn he paused, standing very still as he noticed them watching. He put his back to the entrance and crossed his arms, scowling at them.

“What are you?” he spat accusingly, “Though you wear Kokiri clothing, you can't fool me! I promised Saria I would never let anybody go through here!”

Link frowned, approaching him slowly. “Mido?” he whispered gently, kneeling so that he could look Mido in the eyes, “It’s all right, it’s…” he stopped, frowning. He sighed, his shoulders sinking. “We’re actually looking for her… Saria, I mean.” Mido’s scowl deepened. “I don’t care! I won’t let you through.” Link’s eyebrows knit together and they stayed that way for a long time until he stood up, pulled off his hat and reached _into_ it, pulling out the instrument that Verida could faintly remember him using to play the Song of Time. She gasped quietly, suddenly realizing what it was that he held.

Link pressed the Ocarina to his lips and began to play the same lilting tune that the air in the forest seemed to carry along the highest of the leaves like a soft breeze, using the magic of the Ocarina to bring it down to them and stir the trees around them with its vibrant and contagious energy. All around them the foreboding mists that had once been present were no longer pressing in on them and there was a vengeful sort of anger whispering between the trees that brought the piercing light of day to rain down upon the poisonous shadows.

When Link was finished, he looked down at Mido and gave him a long, hard stare as once again he knelt down to look into his eyes.

“That melody?!” Mido gasped, staring at the changes in the woods around them, “Saria plays that song all the time! You... do you know Saria?” Link nodded slowly. “I did… we were good friends, she and I.” Mido blinked, a confused expression falling over his features.

“That song... yes, Saria taught that song only to her friends...” He studied Link’s face for the longest time… and then he gasped. It was very slight, so soft and short that Verida almost hadn’t heard it, and she watched as Mido’s eyes flickered to the fairy that poked out from underneath Link’s hat.

“L-Link?” he whispered incredulously. 

Link nodded. “Yes, Mido. It’s me.” Mido shook his head. “H-How?” Link shrugged, shaking his head. “I don’t know. But I do know this: the village needs you, Mido. My friend Verida and I just now rescued Fado from a Wolfos… they’re not safe without you there.” He grasped Mido’s slight shoulders gently. “You need to go to them. Let us find Saria, all right?”

Mido stared at him for a brief moment before whispering quietly, “A Wolfos? Fado?” He blinked, finally sighing deeply before nodding and telling Link that he would go back and look after the others. 

“You find Saria,” he said to them, “and bring her home.”

“I might not be able to do that,” Link warned him, “but I can make the monsters go away.” Mido nodded in understanding. “Thanks, Link. And… I’m sorry. You know, for everything…” Link flashed him a gentle smile. “That’s all right. Go keep our friends safe.” Mido nodded again and then left, leaving the two of them to stare after him.

“I think… I remember him,” Verida said finally after a moment of silence. “He liked to pick on you because you didn’t have a fairy, right?” 

“Yeah,” Link murmured quietly. “I guess that’s changed.”

They continued through the woods in silence, or at least their was no conversation between them because the faint melody that had been hanging above the trees before was now all around them, making them feel at least a bit braver while traversing the paths, if not safer. Finally they made it to a small meadow with another path leading beyond, but here the music ceased to play, as though signaling their arrival.

“We’re here,” Link said quietly. He glanced at the mangled shreds of twisted metal and iron that looked like it had once been a gate.

“This is the Sacred Meadow,” he said slowly, “and _that_ ” – he pointed to the scattered pieces of shrapnel – “ _used_ to be the gate that opened up the garden maze just beyond there…” he pointed ahead further where walls of shrubbery awaited them beyond where the gate had once stood. Verida looked back at the shards of twisted metal.

“It looks as though it was beaten in with a blunt object of some kind…” she muttered, and then she stilled. “What is that?” Link glanced at her, a fine golden eyebrow lifting in question. “What is… what?” Verida held up a hand. “Shh! Listen… I can hear something ahead…”

And so they were quiet, almost even holding their breath to listen for whatever sound Verida had picked up on. At last they heard it: the sounds of soft thudding feet and heavy breathing – which they found were coming from the creatures that roamed the maze… 

“Moblins,” Verida whispered, to terrified to even let her voice quaver as one passed right by the entrance without even noticing them, the creature standing at least two heads taller than Link, who was already tall to begin with, with large furry muscles, a skirt of chain mail at its waist and a spear in one hand. It had the face of a pig but the teeth and jowls of a great dog, gleaming sharp and white in the soft light of the meadow.

“I’m going to take a guess,” Link said quietly, “and say that these are the things that forced the Mad Scrubs out of their territory…”

“What,” Verida replied through gritted teeth, “because they used to live here?” Link nodded. “Yes. When I was last here there were Mad Scrubs everywhere. This was their hunting and nesting grounds and now… it’s not.” He sighed. “That maze is incredibly narrow and there’s no telling how many of those are in there. How are we supposed to get past them?”

“You could stun them,” Verida suggested, folding her arms across her chest. “Do you have anything that could reach them from far away?” Link blinked, thinking for a few moments before reaching for his hat again and pulling something small and shiny out of it. Verida stared.

“What is that?” she asked curiously, “And how does your hat do that?”

The item in Link’s hands looked fairly small – about the size of an average person’s forearm, - and was mostly made of metal. On one end was a handle that obviously allowed the person using it to hold it, but from the end of the handle was a firm tube made of smooth iron that appeared to contain a spring and chain mechanism. One the other end… was a very sharp hook.

“This was the item I was sent to Kakariko Graveyard to get,” he told her seriously. “It’s called the Hookshot.” 

She looked at it again and noticed after a quick examination with her magical senses that both the hook and its spring and chain mechanism were both imprinted with heavy charms of propulsion and suspension. 

“From who?” she asked incredulously. 

“This thing has more magic in its hook than I do in my whole body.” Okay, so maybe that was an exaggeration, but it was still a lot. Link held it up to examine it for himself. “Dampé the Gravekeeper,” he answered her dryly, “I’m not sure how he got a hold of it myself either. But…” he muttered hopefully while shooting Verida an optimistic glance, “it might just get the job done if all we’re trying to do is stun them. Oh, and my hat has a number of magical properties that allow it to be bottomless. I'm not sure how it works, but it's certainly been useful to me since I first left the forest.”

He did have a point.

“So… give it a try,” she told him, shrugging. “I don’t really know how it’s supposed to work, but that’s probably what all that magic on it is for.”

Link gripped the handle as tight as he possibly could with his left hand: pressing his back flush against the wall of greenery as soon as the Moblin (who seemed to be lacking any kind of peripheral vision) passed by to their left. He wrapped himself around and aimed the tip of the Hookshot at the small of its back, slowly reaching up with his index finger to pull the spring’s trigger. 

_Whoosh_ , it went, and Link swung his right arm around to hold his left one still as it jerked with the force of the pent up propulsion. Despite this, the hook flew more or less where it was intended to, eventually making it towards the flesh and bone of the Moblin while cutting at the tender fabric of its spine,

Now, having read the anatomy book from the library in Kakariko and hoping that the Moblins were more or less the same in terms of how spines worked to control their bodies, Link was mostly correct in assuming that a severed or even partially severed spine would result in total disruption of lower body function. So as Link let go of the trigger and the Hookshot pulled out of the Moblin to rewind itself up again, the creature bent forward double and collapsed in a nearby pool of water. 

“Yes!” Link cried softly in victory, “it worked!”

He turned back to Verida, who was looking at the Hookshot with some measure of approval.

“Right,” she affirmed, “now let’s get past all of the other monsters.” So with Verida’s help, the two of them moved through the shadows and disabled or killed every Moblin that they came across. Finally the pair ended up standing at the threshold of a small flight of stairs, and they ascended them in order to greet their final obstacle.

At the end of the long passageway, there stood another Moblin. 

This one was slightly different though, for it wore a bright gleaming breastplate made of silver, wore a metal skirt made of heavy iron plates, and held in its steel-knuckled gloves a giant spiked club smeared with blue paint.

Once it saw them, it roared in defiance, slamming its club on the ground to send shockwaves skittering about their feet. 

“How do we get past _this_?” Link swore, “It’s huge!” 

Verida pointed towards its giant head. “They’re big, Link, but they’re not very smart. Here, watch me.” Verida ran ahead towards the left side of the passage, and the Moblin slammed its club against the ground. Once the shockwaves started coming, Verida ran to the right, and was already more than halfway there. Once the Moblin slammed down his club again, Verida ran towards the left again and slipped _right past_ him.

Link stared, blinking stupidly. Could it really be so easy?

Immediately he began crafting his own version of Verida’s method, confusing the large Moblin so much that it hit itself in the chaos, making it slump against the side of the passage just as Link made it safely to the other side. Verida grinned. “Nice work, you confused it so much it passed out!”

Link returned her grin, but it quickly faded as the two of them approached the center of the forest glade. Walking across the pedestal that was emblazoned with the symbol of the Forest Temple, Link pointed out a stump off to the right of the temple entrance.

“Saria used to sit here and play her song for the forest,” he told her, his voice steady but somber. “It’s where she taught _me_ to play it…”

Link stood up straighter just then, and Verida turned along with him when she sensed the shift in the shadows of the trees across the area. From the darkness emerged a shape as though stepping into their world from another realm, and Sheik appeared before them. A fine golden eyebrow lifted in Verida’s direction, and she realized then that – for whatever reason – he’d parted his hair to cover his left eye rather than his right. 

“So you made it,” Sheik said at last, “that is good. But… I suppose you did have help…” his voice trailed off into nothing as he fixed his single visible eye on Verida. She folded her arms and scowled at him defensively.

“Impa let me come. And, just so you know, Link did most of the work himself. He could have gotten here without me.” 

Beside her, Link flushed, trying very hard to resist his urge to find a large rock and hide under it. Sheik noticed this and a grin formed beneath his cowl as he chuckled, earning scowls from both Link and Verida. “Why are you here?” Link asked, “Surely you have more purpose meeting me here than simply idle chatter? I thought that I was short on time here…”

“Ah, yes… time,” Sheik murmured pleasantly, “The flow of time is always cruel... its speed seeming different for each person, but no one can change it... A thing that doesn't change with time, however, is a memory of younger days...” he glanced at the stump behind Link, and while he did not turn to follow Sheik’s gaze, Link knew where he was looking. 

How much did he know?

“Tell me, do you have an instrument?” Sheik asked him, shaking Link from his reverie. Link felt for one of his pockets, where he’d put it after their encounter with Mido. Holding it in his hands again, he nodded to Sheik. “This is my instrument.” Sheik nodded in approval. “Good. I have a melody to teach you that will bring you here should you ever wish to return… without wasting any of that _precious_ time of yours.”

Link frowned, unsure of how to react to this statement. He did notice the harp that Sheik produced just then, and how slender Sheik’s hands were while holding the golden instrument. 

“In order to come back here again, play this song: the _Minuet of Forest_.”

Sheik began to pluck out a gentle melody on the tender strings, and when he nodded to Link in a silent request for him to play the notes back, Link complied. Sheik followed up with a lilting harmony soon after, and the pressing anger of the forest around them was transformed into a tender gratitude that swept through Link and Verida so hard it nearly brought them to their knees. 

Once the song was finished, Sheik bowed to them both.

“I cannot stay, I’m afraid. I have… other commitments.” Another smile formed beneath his cowl and his gaze shifted to Link sharply as he said, “I'll see you again… Link…” and then he threw down a Deku Nut at them both and was gone from their sight before the light and smoke cleared away.

Verida blinked at the spot where he’d been for some moments before noticing that Link was staring up at the broken stairwell that crumbled off into nothing before the Forest Temple’s entrance. A wooden tree grew upon the landing, and Verida could see bits of its roots hanging from the packed soil below. 

“So that’s how we’re getting up there?” she asked him as he stared at the Hookshot in his hand. Link looked up and then nodded once her words had registered. 

“You better hang onto me. It would take too long for one of us to climb up there and then toss it back down. Besides,” he said with a smile, “it packs a punch when you set it off.” He bent a little to better offer her access to his neck so that she could wrap her arms around him. While Verida was tall, Link was at least half a head taller than she, and once Link had the Hookshot aimed at the branch above and they ascended to the landing.

Shortly afterward, Link attached the Hookshot to a loop on his belt, and together they entered the darkness of the Forest Temple.


	4. The Forest Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and Verida venture into the Forest Temple and tackle the daunting task of dispelling the darkness within. Along the way they meet the captive Poe Sisters, Link obtains the Fairy Bow, Verida discovers her magical talents, and the Sage of Forest is awakened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References/inspiration used for the 'true forms' of the Poe Sisters are [here](http://lyiba-mooneyes.deviantart.com/art/Poe-Sisters-Joelle-194647403), [here](http://lyiba-mooneyes.deviantart.com/art/Poe-Sisters-Beth-286810120), and [here](http://tuinen.deviantart.com/art/Poe-Sisters-165845735).
> 
> (The first and second are for singles of Joelle and Beth, the last one is for Amy and Meg.)

Immediately upon setting foot across the threshold of the Forest Temple, two Wolfos emerged from the ground to tackle them into the dirt. Both Link and Verida were forced to wrestle their own beast to the ground in order to get away, but eventually they managed to escape and scramble for their weapons.

With Navi’s help, the two were able to slay each Wolfos easily, though the intensity of the battle had tired them out enough to require a breather.

“I say we eat something before we continue,” Verida said to Link while she watched him rest his again against a nearby wall, his eyes closed. He opened one of them glance over in her direction and he shifted slightly.

“Do you have anything with you?” he asked her in return. She nodded. “It’s not much. Just some bread and cheese, but it will serve us well enough. We haven’t eaten since early morning anyway and I’m sure it’s well past noon now.” Link nodded, and the two of them sat down to consume the small meal of bread and cheese that Verida produced, downing it with some Lon Lon Milk that Link had stashed in his hat.

As Verida was putting the remains of their meal away, Link noticed that the vines on the wall nearest him were thick and sturdy: perfect for climbing.

Without a second thought he began to climb up the wall, having spotted something high up on a branch above them and thinking it might be important if it were up in such a high place. Not long afterwards, Verida buttoned up the tops of the belt pockets she used for her traveling food, and she looked up to see where Link was.

Except that… he wasn’t where she’d left him.

Hearing something high above her, Verida’s attention shifted in the direction of the sound. Lo and behold, there was Link, jumping across two branches that grew near the ceiling to kick at something she couldn’t see. He bent down to pick it up, and then he swung over the side of the tree and climbed quickly down to the floor.

“What on Din’s good earth were you doing up there?” she asked him with a soft scowl. He simply grinned and held up something shiny. It was a small silver key, and on the flat center of it was etched the symbol of the Forest Temple.

“Getting this.” He replied loftily. “Thought it might be important.”

Verida rolled her eyes. Though it was true he’d been through a lot in the past few days, he was still the same Link she remembered. Or… was beginning to remember. Some things still eluded her when she tried to think about them, but most of the memories concerning her friend were beginning to return.

They did not need to use the silver key just yet however, as the door before them was already unlocked, as was the door beyond that at the end of a long hallway overgrown with beautiful pink flowers and gangly vines that was inhabited by a single Skulltula that was easily dispatched with but a single well-aimed firing of the Hookshot.

It was the following room that was a different story.

Even before they entered the room Verida could see through the glass panes in the door to four sets of flames glowing on the other side.

“I’ve read about this place,” she said quietly to Link as they closed the door behind them. “This is where the guardians of the Forest Temple keep the four flames that open the way to the Temple’s altar.” Link nodded, and was about to take another step, but suddenly the four flames dispersed and four similarly colored Poes appeared in their place, each holding a lit torch.

Once they spotted Link and Verida, the Poes screeched and raced off in four different directions, leaving them to look on in confusion.

“Um… what just happened?” Link asked to no one in particular.

Verida frowned. “Those were the Temple guardians… the Poe Sisters. Usually they’re… more welcoming than that, especially to people of the forest like you…” she nodded to Link. “I don’t understand why they would run away…”

Link frowned, folding his arms. “It might be because of the darkness here. The air tastes just like it did back in the ranch and Kokiri Village. That might be what’s setting them off.”

Verida nodded.

“It might. But, before we go looking for them in either of the directions they ran off to, we should probably try that room at the far end.” She pointed straight across the other side of the large chamber. “There’s likely something that can help us there. A map, probably. All of the temples have one.”

They strode across the room and through the door on the other side. Another hallway containing a large floating skull succeeded it, which Navi called a Blue Bubble. Just hitting it once with a shield was enough to douse the flame that surrounded it, and whacking it a few times with a sword sent the fragile bones crumbling into dust.

Beyond that was an octagonal room that appeared to have nothing in it…

Until two shadows began to appear on the floor and Link jumped back towards the door, dragging Verida with him. Not long afterwards two large skeletal warriors wielding long swords made of jagged red metal and carrying thick, circular metal shields landed on the floor before them.

“Stalfos!” Verida cursed. She quickly caught Link’s gaze and fixed him with a forceful stare. “Keep your shield up and wait until there’s an opening to break through their defenses!” Then she bolted off into the shadows, melting into them with a soft hiss and a bit of mist. Link turned back to the Stalfos and slung his shield over his right arm as he approached the closest one.

Verida began picking at the other Stalfos so that it would stay away from Link and the Stalfos he’d chosen to take care of. She didn’t have a shield, so she’d have to make do with her magic to help her out.

She darted out of the shadows, using her slight form to coax it into attacking and then coming around with one of her knives while it was vulnerable, she repeated this several times, being very careful to stay close to the shadows because it had already caught the underside of her calf at least once. Link, meanwhile, was close to defeating his foe despite being a bit scratched up. Once again the Stalfos lifted its great sword to clash against his shield, making it recoil with the force opposing it.

Link swung the Master Sword around, catching the creature by the joints of its knees, making it fall to the floor and crumble into dust. The Stalfos beyond it followed suit not long after, though Verida looked a little worse for wear.

“Verida!” Link exclaimed, “Are you all right?”

Verida shrugged. “I’ll live, but the thing caught me a couple of times and gave me a nasty cut on the back of my leg.” Link was about to say something in reply but was interrupted by the appearance of a small chest that – when opened – simply contained another silver key.

“I was hoping it would be a map,” Verida sighed, “but I guess we’ll have to keep looking.” Link gave her a look. “Not with that cut on your leg. You don’t notice it now, but it’ll slow you down later.”

“Here, let me help!” cried a little voice beside them.

Link and Verida looked towards the sound, surprised to find Navi leading a little pink fairy in their direction. “I can heal you!” Verida gasped, grinning slightly. “What luck! A healing fairy!”

The healing fairy touched the spot on Verida’s leg where the cut was and immediately it healed over. All of her other cuts did as well, and the little pink fairy healed Link’s cuts afterwards, telling them that it wasn’t any trouble at all.

“Just be careful, all right?” she told them sternly. “There are dangerous things lurking about in the shadows.” Verida assured her that they would do just that, and the pink fairy disappeared just then in a puff of sparkly smoke. Navi slunk back into Link’s hat, and the two of them walked back to the main chamber where Link dragged Verida over to where a blue block sat in front of the northwestern door.

“I’ve seen these before,” he quickly explained, “they disappear when I play the Song of Time for them.” Upon closer study of the symbol etched into the stone, Verida nodded in understanding. “That’s the symbol that was on the Door of Time. Makes sense that they would respond to the song…”

Link played the tune on his Ocarina and Verida looked on in wonder as the block glowed brightly within a circle of blue light and eventually disappeared to reveal the door behind it. They opened the door, but they did so carefully, as they did not know what lay in wait for them. This was evidently a good idea, for as soon as they stepped into the spacious courtyard a giant Deku Baba leaped at them in an attempt to bite them.

Lucky for them that it couldn’t reach them.

Ignoring the giant Deku Baba for now, the two glanced around the courtyard looking for anything that could lead them to one of the Poe Sisters.

“Well, I can see a hallway up to our left,” Link muttered, “but no way up to it.” He looked over at Verida. “Anything on the other side?” She climbed over the stone railing to look around, and the smile that lit up her face seemed to be a good sign.

“Yeah,” she called back to him, “looks like there’s a door back inside way up high… with some vines leading up to it.” She frowned. “Lots of Skullwalltulas though.” Link jumped the stone railing as well and pulled out his Hookshot. “Not a problem,” he told her. He them proceeded to pick off every Skullwalltula that he could reach… except one.

“And what about that one?”

Link shrugged. “Climb fast and hope it doesn’t see you?” Verida rolled her eyes. “Yeah, all right. It’s on you if I get bitten, though. Just so you know.”

That didn’t happen, so they were free to enter the door at the top. Once more were they faced with a floating Blue Bubble, but this time Link pulled out a Deku Nut and threw it at the Bubble so that it became frozen. He pulled the Master Sword from its sheath and jumped at it with the sword bearing down on the bone, instantly crushing it into dust like the others.

“Yes!” Link hissed in triumph as he sheathed the sword again, “It worked!”

“What?” Verida asked as she opened the latch of the chest that had appeared as soon as the thing was dead. “You didn’t think it would?” Link shrugged again. “The thought did cross my mind. ”It was then that he noticed the chest, which was bigger than the ones they’d seen already.

“Hey, is that…?”

“The map?” She held up a rolled up piece of leather-bound paper for Link to look at. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. There are notes on it too.” Link unrolled it again and glanced over it, seeing the labels of each room and where certain things were located. “This is definitely helpful.” He pointed to another room nearby. ”Once we get the Compass it will be infinitely more useful. Come on; let’s keep going. There’s a switch in the other courtyard we need to press.”

Another Deku Baba greeted them on the other side of the door leading into the courtyard opposite the one they’d just left, but this was a smaller one and easily dispatched. The door they’d exited had put them on a balcony high above the courtyard. The switch lay on another balcony nearby underneath a Hookshot target. The walls close by were covered in thick climbing vines.

Link picked off the single Skullwalltula nearby and gestured for Verida to make her way down. “I’ll meet you there,” he said with a smile, “Just let me press the switch and I’ll be following you in no time.”

The switch activated something in the sewers that connected the two wells in the courtyards so that the water level would decrease and allow them to pass between the courtyards. Link followed Verida down as he’d promised and the two of them climbed down into the well, following the path to the end where they found some vines leading up and a chest containing another small key.

Once they climbed the vines they found themselves back in the courtyard they had first entered when Link had removed the Song of Time block from the main chamber.

“I’ll take this as a sign that we should return there,” Link told Verida as they discussed their options. She nodded. “There was a locked door next to the door we used to get here. It’s the only other one we can enter besides.” Having read the map earlier, Link knew that she was right. So when they returned back to the main chamber _that_ was the door they took.

The locked door revealed yet _another_ hallway (and at this point Verida was beginning to wonder at the Temple’s design and its affinity for hallways) with another creature taking residence within. It was another Skulltula, but it was dispatched as the one in the very first hallway had been: with a single firing of the Hookshot.

Following that came a many-tiered room with another Blue Bubble on the first level. The two ignored it, since it was busy turning itself in circles for some reason, and climbed the ladder nearby to the next level.

Eventually they found a large blue block stuck inside a little alcove, and yellow arrows painted on the floor. “I suppose you pull this and push it to where it needs to go?” Verida asked. Link nodded, handing her the map as he pushed and pulled. Once the alcove was open and a ladder was revealed, Link told her to go up the ladder and push the block on that level until it could no longer be pushed.

“There’s a note on the map,” he told her by way of an explanation. “It’s so you can save time in getting to the next level.” Verida, still skeptical, nodded and did as she was asked. To her surprise, a rust colored block was on the level above, and she pressed against it until she heard the stone click against a wall. When she got back down, Link had already pushed the blue block where it needed to be, and they climbed up to the next level where the red block was waiting for them.

“Oh!” Verida exclaimed softly as the pieces came together, “I see why you made me go and do that… yes, it does save time, doesn’t it?”

Once the red block was put into place, Link and Verida climbed up to the final level where a door with a silver eye switch and two Blue Bubbles waited for them. The Bubbles were quickly dispatched and Link dug in his pockets for a key to open the locked door with, allowing them access to…

Link blinked rapidly for a moment to see if he could clear his eyes at all. What he was seeing didn’t seem to change, so he turned to Verida and asked her if she was seeing the same thing. She nodded.

“Yeah… I’m seeing it. The hallway’s all… twisted.” She grumbled softly. “What is with this temple and its obsession with hallways?”

Link shrugged and shot her a ‘hell if I know’ look.

“Do you think it’s safe to walk across?” he asked her curiously. She shot him a similar glare. “Well, only one way to find out,” she replied. Apparently, it was all right to walk through the twisted hallway, but the two of them had to hang onto each other to keep upright because the hallway began to spin about them as they walked, creating a sense of vertigo.

“Wait!” Navi called when they finally made it to the end of the hallway.

“Be careful! There are monsters hiding in the shadows on the ceiling in the next room.” Verida, still clinging to Link while she attempted to regain her balance, looked on with apprehension.

“You’ll be referring to the Wallmasters then. Nasty things, Wallmasters. They won’t get you if you don’t stand in one place for too long, so if we wait until we have our balance back, we should be all right.” So they waited, and once they had control of their feet again the pair ran across the platforms in the room and bolted for the door and jamming the last of their keys in the lock.

One large staircase filled the room beyond. More vines grew upon the walls and several rectangular paintings were hung upon the walls. The first two they saw didn’t appear to have anything in them: they were just black and soulless. But Verida could sense _something_ in them, though she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. The third and final one held something though: an image of the red colored Poe they’d seen earlier.

“That’s one of the guardians!” Link called, and he ran down the stairs to approach the painting, but the image disappeared as he walked towards it, followed by a maniacal cackle. Link frowned. “What just happened?”

Verida, who had been following him closely turned around and saw that the Poe’s image had moved to the painting behind her. However, the second she took a step towards it, the image disappeared again and reappeared in the painting above it.

“I think… she’s hidden herself in the paintings,” she told Link slowly, “but we need arrows to hurt her. Your Hookshot won’t do the trick.” She turned to him. “Didn’t that map say there was a bow in the next room?”

Link nodded and the two of them walked down the rest of the way to enter the room where the bow was to be found.

It wasn’t there upon immediately entering the floor, but there was a Stalfos that dropped down from the ceiling to land on the… air? Floor? There was a hole in the middle of the room with nothing in it at all, but the Stalfos could walk across it just fine somehow. Either way, Link and Verida worked together to defeat it this time since they had promised the healing fairy that they’d be careful when fighting. Soon the creature was no more, but that wasn’t the last one…

When the first Stalfos has been slain, the part of the floor that had been missing came down from the ceiling and brought two more with it. But Link was quick to dispatch each of them, for Verida was good at distracting them, and it did not take long for the chest they had been looking for to appear before them.

Link knelt beside the chest, where something was scribbled in Hylian.

“What… a Fairy Bow?”

He flipped the latch and reached inside. Long and slender, the bow was made of dark redwood, its razor sharp bowstring bound tautly by gleaming silver clasps that were decorated with fine leaves and vines. The quiver was similarly crafted, made of a darker, rougher wood than the bow; it was bound by several leather straps and painted across its bindings with bright red acrylic. Verida whistled.

“That is fairy made,” she said softly. “Depending on the enchantment, fairy bows either won’t miss no matter how bad a shot you are or they’ll slowly shape themselves to you, teaching you without your knowing. I would suggest keeping it.” Link nodded, and Verida helped him attach the quiver beneath his cloak and shield.

“Let’s go get that Poe and see what she knows, right?”

Verida nodded, and they exited the room the way they’d come. Link held the Fairy Bow in his left hand and a few of the quiver’s arrows in his fingers. The red Poe Sister had returned to the second painting and Link had a good shot from the bottom of the stairs.

The arrow sliced through the painting and the Poe Sister screeched in pain, Verida following behind Link as he climbed the stairs to reach the landing so that he could see the Poe Sister’s image in the first painting. He loosed another arrow, and he could feel a slight thrill of magic running across his arm that pulled it gently into a more comfortable position.

So Verida had been right about the bow being able to teach its wielder how to properly use it. But now there was only one more painting left for the Poe to hide in, and so Link notched one more arrow and let it fly from his fingers, sending the Poe Sister screaming and flying towards the bottom of the stairs.

Link and Verida rushed after it, only to find that the Poe had crumpled in a heap at the far corner, the illusion wearing away until the Sister’s true form was revealed.

The red Poe Sister was a slight young woman with dark skin, a delicate face, and pearly white lips. She was dressed in a simple red dress that cut just above her knees, the fabric complimenting the golden sash sewn into it. Her wild, straw colored hair was bound tightly with a similarly colored sash of gold. She groaned softly as she held her head in one hand, and her soft golden eyes were unfocused as she blinked blearily in their direction.

“I’m sorry… do I… do I know you?”

Verida jerked her head at Link for him to approach the Poe Sister instead. He was of the forest, and she wasn’t.

“No… you probably don’t,” Link whispered gently as he walked forward. “But I can tell you that I’m not here to hurt you.” She blinked at him, her eyes finally focusing. When they did, she gasped and floated up quickly, backing further into the corner.

“W-What are you doing here? No one is allowed in the Temple without clearance!”

Link offered her a gentle smile.

“I was sent to awaken the Sage. Is that explanation sufficient enough?”

The Poe Sister considered this. “The Sage… yes, I suppose it is. You belong to the forest, too. But…” her eyes glanced in Verida’s direction and eventually narrowed dangerously when they caught sight of her. “She does not belong here.”

“She’s helping me rid this place of its darkness,” Link said quietly. The Poe gasped slightly as though remembering something.

“Yes… yes, that's it. That’s why I’m here. I remember taking my flame because I sensed that evil had come to defile the altar where the Sage was praying and I didn’t know what to do… my sisters had been affected by the darkness coming into the temple…” She sighed.

“Forgive me, my name is Joelle. I suppose it doesn’t matter whether you belong here or not: the darkness it has already taken over the minds of my sisters and they are no longer thinking as they should. Right now, their only desire is to protect the Temple at any costs, no matter that they have already failed to do so. If you defeat them, they should be freed from the darkness and will return the flames of the central chamber to their rightful places."

She snapped her fingers once, and the golden torch near the door lit with a bright orange fire.

“There is my flame. And here, take this…” she felt in her dress for something and eventually produced a silver key. “Take that and go back to the door before the twisted hallway. Shoot the eye once to straighten it and rearrange the room, get what you need to progress and then twist the hallway again so that you can come back here and find my sisters. Do you understand?”

Link took the key and nodded. “I do. And I promise that I’ll free your sisters.”

Joelle smiled tenderly at him. “I have faith. Good luck to you.” Then she left without a word, leaving no traces of her existence behind.

“So I suppose we do as she says and shoot the silver eye above that door?” Verida asked slowly. Link nodded as he pocketed the key Joelle had given him. “We need more keys to progress anyway. It couldn’t hurt.”

So the two of them trekked back to the door with the silver eye and Link shot it with an arrow. The eye closed immediately and a slight shift of magic rushed through the air around them. “I guess that means the hallway isn’t twisted anymore?” Verida wondered aloud. They entered the door again and low and behold the once twisted hallway was now straight.

“How bizarre…” Link whispered to himself.

The room beyond was also twisted. The golden chest that had previously been on the wall when the hallway was twisted was now on the floor and available for them to open. Link did so quickly, grasping the large golden key tightly before grasping Verida’s hand and jumping through the hole in the floor where two Blue Bubbles waited in a small room and were dispatched quickly.

Their defeat opened the gates on the nearby door and allowed them to exit the room. They appeared in one of the courtyards they’d been in before on the high ledge they’d seen earlier.

“So this is how you get up here,” Verida murmured. Link made a kind of grunting sound in the back of his throat as he slew the giant Deku Baba that was blocking their path, and he asked Verida to wait outside while he fetched the key they needed from the nearby room. After a few moments, Link reappeared with the key but seemed a little shaken.

“Are you all right?” she asked gently. Link let out a slow breath and shook himself briefly. “Yeah, I think so. There was a Floormaster in there, so… I can understand why meeting Wallmasters is so terrifying.” Verida grunted. “Aside from the fact that they grab you from the ceiling? Yeah, I guess… but at least the Wallmasters don’t try to strangle you. Floormasters are out for blood.” Link shuddered. “Good thing it’s dead, then…”

Verida nodded, and the two of them exited the courtyard balcony through the door at the far end that led back into the many-leveled room with the ladders.

They climbed their way back up to where the silver eye switch was and Link shot another arrow into it so that the magic would activate and re-twist the hallway as they’d been instructed to do. They backtracked to the room where Link had acquired the bow, and exited through the other side into another stair room with paintings, though they were on the bottom level of this one. This time the Poe Sister was blue, and Link notched an arrow in the Fairy Bow as he walked, eyes peeled for the painting the Poe Sister was lurking in.

Finally, he found it. The third painting contained the blue Poe Sister, and he drew the bow quickly, letting go of the arrow as the magic thrummed through him to help him adjust his aim. Once all three paintings were shot, she ran screeching for the bottom floor.

This sister was tougher, since the arrows hadn’t seemed to chase away the darkness as they’d done with Joelle. Or at least three hadn’t done the trick. So Link waited until the Poe Sister was visible before shooting of two arrows in quick succession and Verida threw one of her daggers. That seemed to do it, for the illusion fell away and revealed a younger looking young woman in a fine blue evening dress with skin as dark as her sister’s. Her straw colored hair was bound in a tight bun on her head in a frilled lace cap trimmed with red ribbon. She also shared Joelle’s pearly white lips and golden eyes; though hers were sharper and more intense for all that she looked to be about fifteen.

“I am Beth, Joelle’s younger sister. I’m assuming she sent you to dispel the darkness that clouded my thoughts?”

Link nodded. “Yes, she did. We're on our way to release your other two sisters, but… there's something we need before we go." Beth looked confused for a moment, but then she noticed the unlit torch nearby and nodded shortly. “Ah… I see.” She snapped her fingers as Jolene had, and this time a blue flame sprung from the top of the torch. “There: my thanks to you. And… here is my gift to you to aid you for the duration of your stay here." She snapped her fingers again and a compass materialized in the air before them, the symbol of the Forest Temple imprinted along circumference.

“Thank you so much,” Verida offered the Poe Sister.

Beth just shrugged. “Saving my sisters and I is thanks enough. Do be careful.”

And with that she disappeared. Afterwards, Link pocketed the Compass that Verida had given him and together they walked up the flight of stairs to where a locked door waited for them. They quickly passed through another room where Wallmasters prowled the ceiling and ran down a straight hallway occupied by two Green Bubbles. They didn’t seem to pursue them as they walked past, so the Bubbles were left alone.

Link and Verida stopped in the following room to take a rest before Link jumped onto one of the platforms and waited until he was in the proper position to shoot the ice covered eye with a flaming arrow. The ice melted and the eye clicked shut, sending another wave of magic through the room that signaled the hallway they’d just left was now twisted.

They ran down the hallway, avoiding the Green Bubbles and jumped down into the Wallmaster room. There was a hole in the floor that had not been there previously, and so they went down the hole before the Wallmasters could sense that they were even there.

This led them to a large rectangular room with a checkerboard floor and a falling ceiling. Verida frowned.

“My guess is we don’t want to be crushed by that…” she muttered darkly. Link nodded. “Yeah, I’d say so.” He gestured to the ceiling while it was on the floor. “There are safe spots in it, though. We can run to them and wait for the ceiling to fall before progressing so we don’t get crushed.”

Verida also pointed out the Skulltulas on the ceiling. Link shot them with arrows while the ceiling was down, which made for a much easier trek across the room with the falling ceiling. There was a chest partway through, but all it contained was more arrows for Link’s quiver. Finally they made it to the door on the other side and went through it.

They entered a small room with colored blocks on the ceiling and a single painting containing the green Poe Sister.

“This one’s different…” Verida murmured. “Just shoot the painting and we’ll see what happens.” So Link shot the painting as he’d done with all the other sisters, and the blocks on the ceiling fell to the floor as timers appeared on their hands in a flash of bright light.

“Oh!” Link gasped in recognition. “It’s a picture puzzle! Here Verida, help me push them together. Ignore the blue one because it’s not part of the picture…” So the two of them put the picture together very quickly and then the green Poe Sister appeared in its place. As with Beth, she took a little longer to take down, but after a few minutes of carefully dancing around each other and shooting arrows or tossing daggers the Sister cried out and the illusion disappeared into nothing.

The illusion fell away to reveal a young woman about Joelle’s age, perhaps a little older, and she shared the same ebony skin, white lips, and golden eyes as her two other sisters, her straw colored hair much shorter though still tightly bound in a small red ribbon. She worse a short green dress decorated with red and yellow sash around her neckline and waist, and also along her sleeves' hems, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of her nose.

Once she was aware of herself again, she sighed slightly when she realized the two of them had been fighting. "Oh dear, I hope I haven't caused anyone harm?" Link shook his head. "No, I don't think so. We've still got to save one more of your sisters though, so we're not done yet."

The Poe Sister nodded slowly, finally offering them a tentative smile after she pulled her face from her hands, her golden eyes glinting brightly.

“I see. I’m Amy, by the way. Which of my other sisters have you saved?” Link thought for a moment. “Ah… Joelle and Beth.” Amy frowned, her fine eyebrows pinching slightly. "That leaves Meg, then… oh, you'll need to be careful with her." 

Link tilted his head. “Why is that?"

Amy sighed.

"Meg is the oldest of us and wields the most power. She also likes to play tricks on people, even us sometimes. I don't know what she'll be doing now that she's under the influence of the darkness in the Temple, but she does have a favorite trick; she likes to produce multiple versions of herself to confuse people. So watch out for that." Link nodded gravely. “We shall. Now… about that flame?” Amy blinked at him in surprise for a moment before Link gestured to the unlit torch behind her.

“Oh! Yes, of course!" She snapped her fingers and green tongues of fire burst into life on the torch by the door. “Good luck to you, forest child. If anyone can save the Temple, it’s you.” And moments later she disappeared in a wisp of green smoke.

Link and Verida exchanged glances.

“So,” Verida began slowly, “we have to watch out for the last sister?” Link shrugged. “Apparently. Come on, I need to see this for myself to believe it. After all, why would she be any different from her sisters?” Verida nodded in agreement and the two of them exited the room.

After passing through yet another Skulltula infested hallway they made it back out to the main room. A mournful screeching sound could be heard that hadn’t been there before and the two warriors pressed themselves against the balcony railing to see what it was.

It was the last Poe Sister, Meg.

She was kneeling down on top of the lowered elevator, holding her head in her hands and shaking it back and forth. Verida frowned. “She looks like she’s in pain… can’t you see it, Link?” Link nodded. “I thought so, too. Let’s get closer and see.” So Link climbed over first and helped Verida down after him, and they began to slowly approach the Poe Sister in the middle of the room.

But as they got closer it began to look less and less like pain and more like a curiously sick enjoyment. When they approached the fallen sister she looked up at them with a snarl.

“Foul defilers! Your penance shall be death!"

She let loose a wild, banshee screech and then disappeared momentarily before multiple versions of herself reappeared around Link and Verida in a circle and began to spin slowly. Verida pressed her back against Link’s, her daggers twitching in her fingers.

“What do we do, Link?” she whispered. “I can’t tell which is the real one!”

Link drew his bow and thought back to what Amy had said.

“Amy said there was a way to tell the real Meg from the fake ones, but I can’t tell which one…” Suddenly his eye caught one of the nearby Megs turning around in a circle as though taunting them. He gasped, and immediately shot off an arrow in that direction. The arrow sliced right through her and all of the other versions dissipated into gray smoke as she screamed in pain.

But the real Meg had also disappeared, leaving the two warriors to wonder at where she’d gone. Link frowned and searched the area thoroughly with his eyes, not sensing when the purple Poe Sister had come up behind him.

Verida turned around, about to tell Link something, but her words fell away the moment she saw the Poe’s thin blade headed for the small of Link’s back.

“Link!” she cried out, the warning almost coming too late.

He turned, and the blade only slashed at him partway and merely grazed his left side. He grunted, took a step back and fell to the ground, his shield clattering off to the side. Meg turned in Verida’s direction snarling fiercely.

“Sheikah whelp!” Meg sneered, her words dripping poison upon the dark floor, “You’ll pay for that!” And then Meg summoned her flaming torch to her hands, wielding it like a wand and moving to rush Verida in order to skewer her with the sharp metal of the lantern. Verida’s hands had dropped their daggers when she’d warned Link about Meg’s attack, but now they scrambled for something, _anything_ else that she could possibly use to defend herself.

All she had with her now was the short-sword and… _the staff_.

It was the first thing her fingers found and they grasped it tightly. She held it up, finding that there was nothing she could do with it other than use it to brace herself against the impact, and when the two parties collided they were thrown against the far wall with Verida pinned beneath the enraged Poe Sister.

Then the fire engulfed her. It didn’t… _burn_ exactly. Rather, Verida found that something inside her was responding to its touch. There was a moment where everything went silent except for the magic that sparked deep inside her soul, but it was quickly over. A wave of heat rolled through her and she saw with a startling clarity that her only reaction was to fling the staff back at Meg and send the fire right back. It worked as she had intended, though it was all Verida could do to stay alert as she fell against the wall to catch her breath.

Link had recovered by now and had watched the spectacle with a thrill of terror and curiosity racing through him. He watched as Meg was thrown against the wall, down but not out, and he shot off a few more arrows just for good measure.

He left Meg to collect herself as the illusion fell away to where Verida was leaning heavily against the wall she’d been pinned to.

“Are you all right?” he asked, and then noticed the staff in her hands. “You’re a mage?” Verida took a deep breath and finally managed to push herself off of the wall. “Well, I’ll be fine for now. I’m not hurt or anything…” she sighed deeply. “As for being a mage, no… I’m not. There are specific goals that need to be met in order to become one, and I never had the chance to complete any of the requirements.” She reached up and ran a hand through the stray hairs that had escaped her braid.

“Impa gave me the staff so that I would have something to channel my magic with when I came into my inheritance. I’ve just recently come of age and my parents were both powerful magic-users in their respective fields, so it was only natural that I would have some sort of talent.” A soft groan sounded nearby, signaling that Meg was finally coming around. Verida caught Link’s gaze and held it.

“We’ll talk later?” she asked him sincerely. Link nodded. This could wait.

At last, the two of them turned to Meg in an attempt to speak to her again, Link walking just slightly ahead of Verida. Meg was dressed in an elegant violet ball gown with multiple rounded sleeves and a large cloth headdress decorated with rubies that bound her hair inside. While it was not entirely visible, one could _just_ see the straw colored locks, and her skin and eyes were as ebony and golden as her sisters’ had been.

As she stood, it was easy to see that she was the oldest. Her sharp aristocratic features tensed as she studied them curiously while intelligent cat’s eyes looked them up and down.

“So you are the ones who freed me from the darkness that was plaguing me? I do apologize for anything I may have done; I wasn’t myself.”

Link nodded and bowed slightly to her. “Yes, it’s all right. We just need you to return your flame to the torch so that we can dispel the darkness and awaken the Sage.” Meg gasped, her brows knitting in worry. “Oh! The Sage… yes, please do be careful. We meant to guard her while she was saying her prayers but… then _it_ came.”

“It?” Verida asked curiously. Link stood next to her, frowning intensely.

Meg snapped her fingers as her sisters had and the final, violet flame sprung to life, restoring the elevator to its proper place.

“It,” she repeated dangerously, “The dark spirit that hides in the paintings. It arrived two days ago and has been defiling the Temple ever since.” She spat on the ground in disgust and snarled at a memory neither of them could see. “You go down there are drive that vile power out of this place, will you? I must go and console my sisters. Good luck to you.”

With that she gave them a short, curt nod and left the room in a burst of light purple smoke, leaving Link and Verida’s attentions to shift towards the elevator in the middle of the room.

“Only one way to go,” Link said as he jerked his head in its direction.

Verida huffed. “Yes… down. How reassuring.”

The elevator took them down to a cylindrical room with a movable wall and a patterned floor.

"The final door is down there," Link pointed out as he observed the room, "but since the way is blocked, we'll need to find the switch that unlocks those bars by pushing that wall all the way around." Verida hummed in agreement. "Yes, it’s probably likely that the switch we need might also be blocked by more bars that require another switch. So let's start by moving the wall to the left. I’ll be on the lookout for switches."

Link pushed the wall section by section while Verida looked for switches. Eventually, after much pushing and searching, they came back all the way around and the bars that had prevented their progress were now gone.

“So… this is it?” Link asked, holding the golden key in his palm. It looked like it would be light, but it weighed heavily against his hand.

Verida glanced over to a nearby pot that glowed pink around the rim. She picked it up and whispered a greeting in that same fairy language she’d learned as a child and a little pink fairy poked its head out from over the rim.

“Oh,” it exclaimed softly, “Are you in need of assistance?”

Verida nodded. “We wouldn’t mind if you healed us up a bit, thanks. If you could help us out we would be extremely grateful.” The healing fairy nodded. “Yes, of course. That’s what we do. A minute, if you would…” Verida nodded and set the pot down, waiting until the fairy came out of it to cast healing spells on the both of them so their energy was restored and their minor cuts closed over.

“That’s all I can do, I’m afraid,” said the little fairy, “I wish you the best of luck.” Link smiled at the fairy and offered his own thanks. “It was more than enough. Safe travels, my friend.”

Once the fairy was gone, Link thrust the key inside the great golden lock, stepping back as the chains fell to the floor.

“No turning back now…” he murmured.

And the both of them stepped through the door. They climbed the stairs into another round room with similar paintings on the walls of a dark forest surrounding a diminishing path. They walked onto the dais painted with the Triforce emblem, but nothing appeared.

Link frowned. “What is it waiting for? I can sense it’s still here…”

Verida turned around, hoping to walk back down the stairs to investigate, but then suddenly the way back down the stairs was blocked by some bars rising up from the ground, and a circle of darkness bubbled up in the center of the room with the outline of a man on a horse rising from it.

When the form solidified, it appeared to be none other than the Evil King himself, but something wasn’t right… the creature that stood before them was something less than corporeal, with bits of its edges blurring and becoming less defined the longer one looked at it.

“You want the Sage, Hero?”

It growled at him in the best interpretation of its master’s own voice, “Then you’ll have to defeat me, the right hand of the Evil King! His best warrior, Phantom Ganon!”

With that said his ghostly mount reared on its hind legs and galloped off into one of the paintings, leaving the two of them to stand there watching as they searched the paintings around them. “He’s got to come through one of the other paintings to come back at us,” Verida told Link as they pressed their backs together. Link had removed his shield and slung it across his right arm while he grasped the Fairy Bow tightly in his left.

“Yes, I think you’re right… if he’s anything like the Poe Sisters were…”

After several tries – many times nearly ending with them being trampled by the surprisingly real hooves of the ghostly horse – they were eventually able to work out a system where they could hit Phantom Ganon right as he was appearing out of a nearby painting.

Eventually they did this enough times that they were even able to knock the specter off of his horse and it galloped straight into a wall as it fell apart in a shower of blue sparks and fire.

Now they were faced with the creature itself: the Phantom. As soon as it was thrown off its mount he summoned a wickedly spiked quarterstaff and he began shooting off balls of crackling black magic at them and blocked everything that they threw at him. Verida was having to run around through the shadows in order to safely pick up her fallen daggers now that she could no longer get a hit on the Phantom. Link frowned as he dodged another ball of energy, wondering if the balls themselves could be reflected somehow…

Ah! Yes, that was it!

He immediately stopped where he was and drew his sword, waiting for the Phantom to shoot another. Verida stopped where she was too, wondering exactly what kind of crazy had infected her friend and if it was contagious. But once the Phantom shot off another energy ball and Link held the Master Sword back behind him, it suddenly made sense.

The energy around the sword began to glow almost unbearably hot, but lucky for Link that the energy ball was close enough. He let it loose, swinging the sword around in a great arc the way the Great Fairy had shown him how to do. The energy ball was sent spiraling backwards with more force than it had been sent, and it hit the Phantom full in the center of his chest.

He fell to the ground, and Verida drew her own sword and began to descend upon the creature with Link close behind. When they finally stepped away, the Phantom simply lay there, his armor torn, his mask broken off somewhere, his bright red hair spattered and matted with blood. When he coughed, more blood spilled on the floor.

He moved to roll into a sitting position, but then a bright circle of purple flames erupted around him, and his head snapped up and his eyes widened.

"No master, I–" he began, flustered. "SILENCE!" another voice boomed.

And there was silence for a moment, until the voice chuckled darkly, and began to speak again.

"I was wondering when I would hear about you again, kid… it seems you've gained some slight skill since last we met. Sadly, you have defeated only my phantom. When you fight the real me, I won't be so easy to defeat!" The power in the purple flames intensified, and Phantom Ganon howled in pain.

"Master, please! Don't!"

"I said be silent! You have outlived your usefulness! You were such a worthless creation to begin with… such a pity you cannot be repaired. So, I shall banish you to the gap between dimensions!"

The Phantom caught Link’s gaze as the edges of his body began to disappear.

“Hey, kid… do not forget this. Remember his weakness.”

And those were his last words before he faded away completely into the gap when Ganondorf had sent him. Immediately the room began to lighten, and a wave of healing magic swept through the temple. A blue circle of light appeared on the center of the dais, and Verida jerked her head in its direction.

“So that’s the warp that’ll take us out of here?”

“I suppose so… or perhaps the Chamber of Sages,” Link answered. He turned to Verida and extended his hand to her. She took it, and together they walked into the blue light while the world around the faded away.

* * *

When they were aware of the world around them once again, they appeared to be standing on a platform shaped like the Triforce in the middle of a cylindrical waterfall. Other little waterfalls and glistening rays of light were scattered about, dotting the world around them with a dazzling backdrop of sparkling blues and golds.

As they were slowly set down on the platform, the green one before them began to glow and another person appeared before them.

It was a small girl that looked to be about ten, but her deep blue eyes were dark with an unnamable weight. Despite this however, she did manage to smile up at them from beneath her radiant green curls and then she bowed to them slightly.

"Hello, my friends," she said quietly, her smile tender… but cordial. "I would like to thank you for freeing me. Without you, I would have never awakened as a Sage." She paused, and her slight brows knit with worry as she caught Link’s gaze. “Are the Poe Sisters all right? They… they were protecting me.”

"You don't have to thank us, Saria. I would have done it anyway." Link offered his good friend a gentle smile I return. “And the sisters are fine. Now that the darkness in the Temple is gone, they should be able to protect it again.”

Saria nodded to show that she understood.

"Regardless, I always believed you would come, because I know you." Saria folded her hands together behind her back sheepishly. "The forest goes wherever you do." Link was about to say more, but Saria shook her head. "No," she said softly, "you don't have to explain anything to me." Saria held out her hands and shrugged lightly. "I'm the Forest Sage, remember?"

It was then that Saria's smile faltered, and she stared solemnly at the ground.

"While it is possible for me to return to the forest with you, I cannot. I have a duty to this place and to my station as a Sage. So for now, I shall stay here and help you with the aid of this Medallion."

Saria stood straight once more, holding out her arms as bright green power gathered in her palms. Link held out his own hands, and in a flash, a grass-green Medallion twirled between his fingertips. Slowly, the Forest Medallion pressed its magic into his chest, the feelings it instilled in him so powerful that they brought him to his knees and drew tears from his eyes.

"Oh, Saria…" Link sobbed quietly.

Link was barely able to glimpse the beginnings of a smile on Saria's lips as the world once again faded to white.

"It's okay," her voice whispered to him, "I will always be your friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some bits of text were copied from my Star Wars/Legend of Zelda crossover 'The True Force.' So sue me, I was getting lazy towards the end and I really want to start working on the editing.


	5. Keeping a Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link learns of his true heritage, and he returns to Kakariko with Verida to decide what to do next. Verida chooses to stay in Kakariko to investigate more about her magic while Link tackles the next temple alone, and the two part ways. Not long afterwards, Verida receives a letter from Malon asking her to make good on her promise.

When the world around Link and Verida returned at last, they found themselves standing before the massive husk of the Great Deku Tree. Link’s brows pinched together slightly and his eyes burned at the edges, but there was a change in the air around them that gave him hope.

While he had previously been unable to save the Great Deku Tree’s life as a child, he _could_ save the rest of Kokiri Forest as an adult.

“Do you sense the change in the air?” Verida asked him as she turned to study his face. “The darkness has lifted from this place!” And upon saying this she flashed him a brilliant grin that was infectious enough to put one on his own lips, the edges twitching upwards just enough to pull them into a soft smile.

His eyes however, noticed something nestled at the foot of the Deku Tree not far from where they stood.

He pointed, about to ask if she remembered seeing that there before, but he bit the words back in shame as he remembered what she’d said about her memories. Noting the movement, Verida’s gaze tracked the motion until it was fixed on a tiny wooden sprout with two glossy green leaves spreading lazily in the warm late afternoon sun.

“Hey, was that there before?” she asked. Link stared.

“You… remember this place?” he asked, stunned. She inclined her head to him. “My memory is becoming a little more clear where it concerns you. I remember you bringing me here once, before…” She frowned, grimacing almost as if in pain, but she paused to close her eyes for a brief moment and collect herself before continuing.

“In any case,” she continued in answer to his question, “I don’t recall the sprout being here.” 

Link nodded at Verida’s explanation, satisfied with her response, turning back to the sprout in order to inspect it further. He stepped closer to it, leaning over it to get a better look at the two little leaves to make sure they were healthy.

As soon as he got close to it though, suddenly the thing shot from the ground with such force that it knocked him back several feet, Verida whirling around to fetch him. When she finally got him to sit up the two of them looked back to see what had exactly happened.

Verida blinked. “Link? Please tell me… that sprout has a face.”

Link chuckled, taking Verida’s offered hand in order to stand. “Yes, Verida. I believe it does.”

And indeed, now the sprout that stood before them was a short, squat little thing only about as tall as Verida’s waist, but now it had two more branches developing on either sides of it that resembled arms, and it also had two beady little eyes that gleamed with a gleeful light complete with a wide line that turned upwards in a happy grin to serve as its mouth.

“Hiya!” it squeaked in a joyful, high-pitched chirp. Verida giggled. “I'm the Deku Tree sprout! Because you and Saria broke the curse on the Forest Temple, I can grow and flourish! Thanks a lot!”

Link grinned at the Sprout. “No problem. It was nothing.”

“Deku Tree!” cried another voice. It was Navi, peeking out from underneath the rim of Link’s hat. She crawled out, fluttering around the Sprout with her light dimmed so that her tiny humanoid form was visible. 

“I’m so glad to see you!” 

“And so am I, Navi.” Navi jingled blissfully while she returned to sit on Link’s right shoulder. “Hey,” began the Sprout again in its high-pitched chirping, “have you seen your old friends? None of them recognized you with your grown-up body, did they? That's because the Kokiri never grow up! Even after seven years, they're still kids!”

Link’s earlier joy diminished, he glanced down and nodded solemnly. 

“Only Saria and Mido recognized me. And even Mido didn’t see it at first. I… had to remind him.” 

The Sprout hummed sympathetically. 

“Yes, well… they are special. Saria is a Sage, and Mido is my Guardian. Of course he would be able to recognize you if you reminded him of it. But… you must be wondering why you have grown up, yes? And why your friends have not? Well, Kokiri are eternally children, and because you have grown up, this means that you are actually a Hylian! I am happy to finally reveal this secret to you!”

Verida frowned. The Deku Sprout had just about the most bizarre way of explaining things. She sighed, folded her arms and glanced at Link, whose expression was a jumbled mix of pain, amusement, and agreement. 

“Yes,” he said quietly, “and thank you.”

The Deku Sprout grinned happily. “Now would you like to sit? I still have more to tell you.” Link tilted his head curiously, his eyes flickering to the side to catch Verida’s gaze. He nodded at the Sprout, and Verida simply shrugged, laying her cloak on the grass so she could sit on it. Link did the same.

“Some time ago,” the Deku Sprout began, lowering its voice about half an octave; “there was a fierce war in our world between the Gerudo and the Hylian peoples. 

“The Gerudo is the tribe of women thieves from which the Evil King hails, and during this time no town was safe from their attacks. Even the towns garrisoned by the armies of the king and nobility had difficulty fighting them off. The highest of these noble houses belonged to the two families of the Lanayru Province, whom like the Sheikah, were assigned the task of personally serving the Royal Family as their guardians. You are a descendant of that house.”

Link’s jaw dropped slightly. This… wasn’t what he had been expecting to hear. Could the Deku Tree… Sprout… be wrong about such things?

“And I can assure you,” said the Sprout with a wry wooden smile, “that I am not wrong. Your father was a knight, killed while defending his town from an attack, but your mother… she fled the town as it was being overrun, but she was mortally wounded. She managed to make it to this very clearing before she collapsed and entrusted you to me.” His beady little eyes shifted, and its little wooden arms gestured to the dead tree behind him.

“Or… me as I was then.”

For a long while, Link was silent. Verida shifted on her cloak and was about to reach for him in a gesture of comfort before Link held up a hand, his face still covered in the shadow of his hair.

“So,” he said slowly, “this is to be my destiny.”

It sounded _almost_ like a question, but it had definitely been a statement. But the Sprout simply beamed at him, despite the melancholy that had descended upon the space between them.

“Oh, but you mustn’t feel bitter about it! You were meant to save this world!"

Finally Link looked up. His expression was different now; distant and resigned, but decidedly peaceful and serene despite everything. His voice cracked a little as he strained to keep the tears in his eyes where they were as he simply returned the Sprout’s smile and said, “Of course, little Sprout.”

He bowed his head, taking a deep breath before moving to stand.

“We should go,” he said to Verida, offering her a hand and a genuine smile that for once did not make his face appear childish. “I’d like to get back to Kakariko before sunset so I can eat a warm meal again. What say you?”

Verida took his hand and returned his grin. “That sounds delightful.”

* * *

After Sheik had stopped them just outside the boundaries of Kokiri Forest to offer Link a song that would take him back to the Temple of Time whenever he had need of it (and to taunt Verida some more), the two travelers mounted Epona and started off towards Kakariko, following the edge of the tributaries of Zora’s River back to the bridge and then down the path into the village.

“Why don’t you come back to the house with me?” Verida offered as they paused beside the inn they’d stayed at the previous night. “I’m certain Impa won’t mind having you there.”

Link was about to grumble, but then he remembered that Miss Anju was a really good cook, so perhaps it couldn’t hurt to endure a bit more ‘Hero this’ and ‘Hero that’ from the Lady Impa. She had also been Princess Zelda’s nursemaid and probably knew her whereabouts. Maybe she could tell him where she was so that he could see her. Though it only felt as though it had been just over a week since he’d seen her, it had truthfully been an awful long time. So he accepted Verida’s offer and let her lead him back to Impa’s house, but not before leaving Epona at a nearby stable for the night.

Miss Anju opened the door when Verida rapped against the dark wood with the back of her knuckles. 

“Oh, hello Verida! Back so soon?” she noticed Link behind her and grinned slyly. “And with a handsome young man in tow, my goodness… what _have_ you been doing, child?” 

Verida blinked rapidly and flushed, though thankfully no one could see it in the golden reds of the afternoon sunset.

“Miss Anju! He’s a _friend_. And… I was wondering if he could stay for dinner and perhaps use one of the spare beds for the night?” Anju’s sly grin transformed into a soft smile as she invited them inside. “Oh, of course… I was only teasing, Verida. And I suppose it couldn’t hurt to let him stay, either.” She led them to the kitchen they reserved for personal dining.

“We’re not using the guest hall?’ Verida asked curiously.

Anju shook her head. “No…” She frowned, running over to stir a pot of warm liquid that smelled strongly of garlic and Cucco. 

“Lady Impa is out for the night. She told me before she left that there was business of a personal nature to take care of but that I should still make the usual dinner for three and use our usual table.” A single eyebrow arched in their direction. She wondered how the Lady Impa had known, but perhaps it had something to do with Sheik’s extended leave of absence? She sighed, turning back to her soup. These things didn’t concern her.

Verida frowned at Anju’s news, but she simply shrugged and turned to Link, who was still standing at the threshold of the kitchen. 

“Come now, the stools don’t bite… much.” Verida giggled. “As long as you’re not wearing wool, you’ll be fine.” Link’s lips turned upwards in amusement, and finally he followed her into the room. 

“Would either of you like anything to drink?” Anju asked as she banked the fire beneath her cooking pot so that it could begin to cool a little before she served it. “Nothing special,” Link answered, “Water will do.” Verida nodded though Anju couldn’t see. “I’ll have the same. I’m kind of parched after today.”

Anju went out to where a small bin sat plastered against the side of the house, a marked wooden plank with a hole at the top tied to a piece of string was attached to a moveable piece of the rain gutter above. The writing marked on the plank was a written spell that summoned water from the river when it was pulled, and so Anju did so, gathering the water she needed in a small pail.

She went back inside and set the pail on one counter, pulling out some of their glass cups for them to use. Link’s expression tightened as he watched, wondering at where the glass had come from. 

“You don’t have to use your good dinnerware on me,” he muttered as she dipped the cup into the water, “I know how expensive glass is.” Anju just grinned at him. “It’s fine. I’m certain a warrior like you has a good grip and even if it does break it’s not going to set us back much. Besides, it’s the Gorons that we get the glass from because of the fine minerals in the Cavern, so there’s no shortage of it around here.”

“She’s right,” Verida confirmed, “glass is fairly commonplace in Kakariko. That’s another reason why it’s pretty much become the center of trade since the siege; because of all the natural resources here.”

Realizing that trying to argue was useless, Link simply allowed Anju to pour him a glass when she’d handed the first one to Verida and waited for their dinner to be ready. 

“Cucco Soup!” Verida purred as Anju poured some of the delicious substance into polished metal bowls. “You’re amazing, Miss Anju.” Anju smiled softly. 

“Thank you Verida,” she replied, pouring the rest of the soup in a bowl for her. “I do apologize,” she said to them as she turned around, “but I’d like to dine in my room tonight. I borrowed a couple of books from the library that I’ve been meaning to get around to reading, so I thought I should start on them. Please, enjoy your meal, and just put the dishes in the basin when you’re done. I’ll get them later.” 

She was about to leave before she paused and stood poised at the other exit from the kitchen.

“Oh, and Verida? Lady Impa replaced the plank in the bathing room so you can use it again if you’re feeling in need of a bath.” And with that she left the room, Verida offering her a few words of thanks as she did so.

Link dug in immediately after she left, feeling ravenous since all they’d eaten that day had been a light breakfast at the inn and the bread and cheese they’d consumed for lunch. Verida smiled as he took one bite too soon after the first, and almost choked on a piece of cucco.

“Hey, take it easy,” she cajoled gently while she picked at her own serving, “Anju makes it piping hot.” Link scowled at her, though the light in his eyes ruined the effect Verida assumed he’d wanted it to have.

“So I noticed…” he muttered, using a napkin to wipe his face after a drink of water. “And about being hot… are we going to discuss your magic now? Or would you rather wait?” He dipped his spoon into the warm broth as he stared in her direction, slowly bringing a chunk of cucco to his lips, sipping the broth. Verida pressed her hands against the edge of the table and leaned back to stretch, sighing as she returned to consuming her meal.

“I suppose…” she replied quietly, retreating into herself again.

Link tilted his head, noting the change in her posture. “Really, we don’t have to talk about it. You have magic, end of story.” 

Verida shook her head. 

“No, I should probably at least tell you what I know. It’s only fair. Besides, it might help some of my memories return.” Link couldn’t argue with that. So she began where she’d left off in the temple, when Link had asked if she were a mage. She told him about her talents as a Sheikah, which Impa had been training her to be since she’d taken Verida in as a child, and about the nature of the magic inside her.

“I don’t know where to go from here exactly,” she finally finished, “I had been hoping to speak with Impa, but I suppose I won’t be able to do that until tomorrow. I could check out the library, but that would mean leaving you to go on alone…”

Link picked up his plate to sip at the broth now that all the chicken was gone. When he was done, he took another drink of water and cleared his throat to speak.

“Actually, I think I want to try this next temple on my own. No offence to you my friend, you’re good at what you do and I’m thankful that you helped me through my first hurdle, but I… I need to do this.” Verida interlocked her fingers together and rested her chin on them, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Promise that you’ll come find me if you need my help?”

Link nodded. “I swear it. But, with luck I won’t need it.” Verida nodded, grasping her glass of water to hold it up for a toast. “To luck,” she offered, and Link returned the sentiment with a wry smile, picking up his own glass and clinking it against hers.

“To luck.”

* * *

She closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath, fingers resting gently along the book’s spine. This was the last book in the entire library that had any mention of magic at all… but she had a bad feeling that it wasn’t going to help her in her search. Still, despite this, she finally glanced ruefully at the gilded lettering on the spine and gently pulled the book from the shelf.

Standing between the rows of bookcases, Verida flipped through the small volume – a journal about the origins of magic – but sighed deeply when she’d confirmed her suspicions. The book clapped shut as it snapped in her hands, which remembered the spot that she’d taken it from and replaced it.

Closing her eyes again, Verida took a moment to lean against the bottom of the shelf nearest to her forehead, her long ears pricking at the sound of the bell chiming to announce that someone had entered the library.

Her eyes opened instantly when she recognized a voice that murmured in the direction of the librarian’s desk. She turned her head slightly so that she could look in that direction, and she was (almost) surprised to see Impa standing there, chatting with the librarian. Impa noticed her gaze and her lips drew back in a slight smile, but she finished her conversation first before withdrawing from the desk to meet with Verida between the rows of books.

“Good afternoon,” Impa greeted cordially, “I see that you got back in one piece. The Forest Temple is clear, then?” 

Verida nodded. “Yes, and Kokiri Forest is safe now that the Deku Sprout is growing. Bit of an odd little fellow,” she murmured upon remembering the Sprout’s mannerisms, “but I trust him.” 

Impa nodded sagely.

“And where is the Hero on this fine day? I thought you’d be with him.”

Verida shook her head in response. “No, Link and I agreed to part ways last night. He said that he was grateful for my help, but that he thought he should try this next temple on his own. I made him promise to come find me if he had any trouble though,” Verida grit through her teeth in a hushed tone, “just in case. I know he’s the Hero and everything, but he’s also my friend.

A soft sigh escaped her lips again. “I worry about him.”

Impa’s lips turned upwards in a soft smile. 

“Of course, it’s only natural to worry about a friend. So… why are you here? Miss Anju tells me you left not long after the Hero did, but that you’ve been here ever since.”

Verida shrugged, her expression a mix of guilt and uncertainty. 

“I’m here because I finally came into my inheritance.” Pause. “Well, I think.”

A fine dark eyebrow rose as Impa folded her arms accusingly. 

“You think? What is the cause for hesitation?” Verida took in a deep breath as if to sigh again, but she realized that she’d been doing that far too much that morning and simply chose to let it out slowly through her nose instead. 

She met Impa’s gaze steadily, answering simply, “I summoned fire to defend myself in the Forest Temple, but I still don’t quite feel like that’s… all of my magic. I can sense a block on it that I couldn’t before, though it’s slowly beginning to unravel. I don’t want to… mess with such things before I have all the information, like when you shouldn’t pick at a scab because it’s there to help the skin heal.” 

Impa nodded, satisfied with her explanation.

“You could have looked through my private library. It probably has more information than all of the books here.” She gestured to the shelves, and Verida made a sound similar to a snort. “I believe you’re right. I was going to look there next if I couldn’t find anything… just wanted to check all my sources.” Impa grinned. 

“A good plan. But, it’s time for lunch. Why don’t you come back to the house with me and we’ll see what we can find after we eat?”

Verida returned Impa’s devious grin. “I think that is a wonderful idea.”

So that was the plan as they walked back to the house, but when they arrived at the landing just before the porch, Miss Anju was walking towards them with a letter in her hand.

“A letter?” Impa wondered as she approached, “Who is it from, Miss Anju?”

Anju shook her head. “Doesn’t say my lady. And I didn’t open it, as it’s addressed to the Lady Verida.” 

Verida blinked. “Me? Who would be sending me a…?” 

Suddenly her eyes lit up and she took the letter from Anju’s hands. Using the letter opener that Anju provided to pry the seal from the paper, she pried the letter from the envelope and skimmed its contents. “Ah! It’s from Malon!” 

Impa glanced knowingly in Verida’s direction. 

“Malon? Talon’s daughter?” 

Verida nodded, folding the letter back but not putting it back in the envelope. 

“Link and I chose to go to the ranch before we went to the forest because we thought getting a horse would save time. We had also met Talon the previous night at one of the inns here in Kakariko, and he’d told us that something had happened there. Long story short I’m fairly certain Ganondorf was involved, but Link and I took care of the situation and now that her father is back at the ranch Malon would like me to come and teach her how to defend herself if something similar should ever happen again.”

She turned to Impa and shot her a sheepish look. 

“Perhaps we could look through your library when I get back? I _did_ promise her, and I really think I should help her out.” Verida’s shoulders drooped as she cast her gaze towards the ground. “And she looked so terrified when those Gerudo had her tied up… she deserves to be able to know how to fight.”

Impa hummed in agreement, the vibrations thrumming deeply in her throat. Three days ago she wouldn’t have considered letting the girl go so far without her, but things were changing; it was time to let Verida make her own choices.

“I agree,” she said finally, “but I insist that you have some lunch first. And…” she trailed off, earning a sharp, curious look from Verida, “I’ll see about getting you a horse from the stables so that you won’t have to walk. How does that sound?” Verida’s eyes lit up. “A horse, really?” Impa nodded.

“And a pack with some practice weapons. But first: food.” 

She flashed a grin at Verida who was salivating at the mention of Anju’s cooking.

* * *

Once the meal was eaten, Impa had wrapped up a bundle of practice weapons for Verida and Malon to use, and took Verida down to the stables to see the owner about a horse. 

It just so happened that a breeder had sent a couple of horses to him to sell now that they were past their breeding prime. They were still good, sturdy riding horses though, so they were perfect for prospective buyers. Verida found a dark roan male among those that had been sent, and so Impa paid the man the cost of the animal and helped Verida attach a saddle, blankets, and other assorted bits of equipment. 

Finally Verida was able to lead the horse out of the stables and once they were far enough away from the building she climbed onto the saddle, looking back at Impa. 

“I’ll try to be back before dinner!” she called as they cantered out of sight.

“Good luck!” Impa called back, waving once before turning around to head back home and resume business as usual.

Just as Verida and her roan horse were passing the village boundary and heading for the sloping trail that only riders used, she caught sight of a young man with dark hair and bright blue eyes who waved to her as she passed. Verida giggled to herself after waving back: the young man had certainly been handsome. But… she paused, glancing back to watch his figure diminishing as the horse trotted onward. Where was he coming _from_? 

She shrugged, taking the reins firmly in her hands again. He’d had a sword and shield with him, so he was probably just another traveler who was smart enough to prepare for the roughness of travel under the Evil King.

Perhaps they would meet again.

Verida rode at a moderate pace, not wanting to push the stallion to his limits so soon after winning his trust, but she needn’t have worried since she made it to the ranch in good time. Malon was coming back from the corral as Verida rode in, her face lighting up as she caught sight of her.

“Verida!” she called out, “You came!” 

Verida nodded, reining in the stallion’s pace first from a canter to a trot and then finally to a stop just beside Malon, who cooed over the horse.

“Oh, he’s beautiful. Is he yours?” Verida nodded

“Yep, he’s mine. Do you mind if I let him wander the corral? He’s been cooped up in Kakariko’s stables for Din knows how long, so I thought some fresh air would do him some good.” She dismounted the stallion and unhitched the bundle with the practice weapons, setting them against the stables momentarily. Malon instantly agreed to let the stallion wander.

“It feels strange though,” Verida muttered as they led him to the corral gates, “calling him, well… ‘him.’ Shouldn’t I give him a name?” 

Malon shrugged. “You don’t have to, but it’s recommended. Some horses will even come when called if you call them a certain name for long enough.” 

Verida stared at the stallion, gently grasping at the sides of his long snout and caressing the leathery coat with her fingers. “All right, now… what to call you?” She hummed quietly in thought. “Midnight?” she tried. No reaction from the horse. She frowned, but tried again. “Midsummer? Midday? Daylight? Starlight?” Still nothing. Verida took her hands and put them to her hips, scowling at the stallion. “Come on, give me some sort of sign!”

Then Verida noticed the color of the stallion’s coat was a shimmering collection of different shades of black, like the shadows that fell across the ground by the mid-afternoon sun. Hmm… now that was an idea.

“How about Shadow?” 

That seemed to do the trick, for the roan horse nickered once and bobbed its head almost in an affirming sort of motion. Verida stood back, a wry smile plastered to her face. “Well, why didn’t you just say so?” she asked the stallion. Malon simply laughed as she let Shadow inside, and Verida went to pick up the bundle of weapons she’d brought.

“Well,” she said, turning back to Malon, “let’s get started, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wooden plank that Anju pulls to summon the water from the river was inspired by the system used in the bathhouse from Spirited Away.


	6. Exchange of Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link returns to Kakariko after a week of trying and failing to kill the dragon Volvagia. Upon finding Verida he asks for her help, and then leaves his sanctuary only to be caught up in a rainstorm. Seeking shelter under a roof across the street, he runs into the mysterious young man named Shadow who tends to his burns in exchange for his friendship.

A week passed after the day Verida had gone to Lon Lon Ranch to start teaching Malon how to fight. They had agreed that she’d come every other day now if it was possible, and if it wasn’t then one or the other would send word via a set of portable scrying glasses that Verida had procured from Impa.

But every day that passed when Link didn’t come back from his trip into the mountains or send word of his progress made Verida increasingly nervous. She took to volunteering at her favorite bar on the main thoroughfare when her search through Impa’s library became tedious, and that’s where she found herself on one of her off days.

It wasn’t like she would’ve gone today anyway, she told herself as she looked out the large window in the bar’s back room where they kept their drinks. Dark clouds swollen with rain swirled above the sky in thick, gray rolls of humidity and moisture. A light drizzle had already begun to settle over the town and from the looks of the clouds above, it wasn’t going to be much longer until it started pouring rain.

“Verida!” a heavy baritone voice called from the doorway, “You’re up!”

She turned around to look at the owner of the bar and gave him a curt nod to let him know she’d heard. Then she set down the glass mug she’d been cleaning on a nearby shelf and slipped into a white server’s apron, trying to get it over her dark blue dress.

She’d taken to wearing breeches often in the past week and she hadn’t realized how difficult dresses were to maneuver around in until she was wearing them again. Finally managing to tie the apron around the back of her waist, she exited the back room and went through the small kitchen to take her spot at the bar to serve the next round of customers.

That was when she saw him.

A young man with unruly blond hair and wearing a dark tan traveling cloak sat with his elbows pressed into the counter, his hands snaking into his hair to press against his head and support it as though to keep it from falling to the floor. A red hat sat crumpled on the counter next to him, a soft glow emanating from underneath. Upon approaching him, Verida could see that bits of his hair were singed and he smelled of fire and sulfur. The right sleeve of his scarlet red tunic was torn and his left one had the edges of it burnt away. Along the side of his right arm was a long, spindly, and very fresh burn.

She winced. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“Are you all right?” she asked gingerly, not certain how to approach this.

The young man’s head jerked up, and Verida gasped as her gaze met a pair of startled blue eyes.

“Link?” she asked again, and she did nothing to hide the concern from her face. “What happened to you?” He moved to sit straighter, but he winced visibly when he pressed his scarred arm closer to his body. “Long story,” he replied when he’d collected himself, digging in one of his pockets to procure a red rupee.

“Get me some Red Potion and I’ll tell you.”

Frowning, Verida took it, but did as he asked and fetched him the potion.

Since there were no other customers sitting at the bar today and there was always separate wait-staff for the tables and the bar, Verida was able to watch him down the potion at her leisure and wait for his explanation.

Finally Link began at length and said quietly, “I’m not here because the temple gave me any trouble. I took me longer than I thought to get through it, but I even managed to defeat both of the Flare Dancers that had taken up residence and came out without a scratch…” He bit back a retort of some kind, resorting to an exasperated sigh instead.

“It was the dragon… that got to me.”

Verida noticed Link’s eyes go distant as his fingers absently played with the glass cup in his hands.

“I had previously met the dragon after saving it from being sold at market when I was a child. After I managed to befriend him, he helped me navigate Dodongo’s Cavern and defeat the King Dodongo inside.” He looked up, though his eyes didn’t seem to focus on anything in the present, and his fingers lay still against the glass cup.

“I had come to see him as a friend, and – knowing that I couldn’t take him with me to see the Zoras upriver – I left him to roam Death Mountain Crater so that he would have a safe place to grow up in…” Suddenly Link’s distant expression quickly morphed into rage and he slammed his left hand against the table, tipping the glass over and spinning it. A few customers at the nearby tables glanced over, but they quickly looked away.

Verida stepped back after picking up the glass cup, watching Link with a careful tilt of her head.

“And then, in my absence, Ganondorf decides to use him as the instrument in which to torture the Gorons with, just because they were unable to pay their tithes of gems and metals to him! How cruel is that?”

Verida’s frown deepened. She hadn’t known about the Gorons’ distress…

“It is cruel,” she cut in at last, shaking Link from his visions of the past, “but why didn’t the Gorons at least warn Impa about the situation? I understand that Darunia is a proud leader, but he should have had the sense to at least send a message down the mountain…”

Link shook his head slowly.

“Volvagia, which is what they’re calling the dragon, started taking Gorons into the Fire Temple in order to hold them prisoner and eventually eat them if Darunia didn’t deal with the situation on his own. Neither did he have any time to find the legendary hammer that had defeated a dragon similar to Volvagia some many years ago in Goron history, so when I met up with him the day you and I parted, he told me that he couldn’t send a message down the mountain for fear that the dragon would take his son and eat his people, one by one… that’s why no message was sent.”

Verida grimaced, a sick feeling trickling in her gut.

“Darunia’s dead… isn’t he?”

Link’s face fell, but he held her gaze. “I believe so. When I finally reached the dragon’s lair I couldn’t find him anywhere… and Volvagia was still alive.”

Verida arched an eyebrow in question. “So about that dragon… it’s giving you so much trouble because you knew it when you were a child?” Link nodded. “And for days I tried to get him to snap out of it, doing everything I could think of that might work… but I’m beginning to get the feeling that nothing except death will bring my friend back to me…”

Link sighed, half a groan filtering through as he leaned against the counter on his good arm. Verida could see that the Red Potion had done wonders for his right side, though it was still red and raw from the burns it had taken from what she assumed was the dragon’s firebreath.

“I came back when I finally realized that I couldn’t kill him on my own with that knowledge holding me back…”

He looked up again, holding her gaze steadily.

“Verida, I need your help.”

And she nodded without hesitation.

“I’ll do it,” she told him, “but I still have a couple hours left on my shift. Why don’t _you_ go and have that arm looked at and come back to Impa’s house for dinner and some rest tonight? If we’re to be slaying anything, we’ll need to do it on a good night’s sleep.” She gave Link a once over, flashing him a tight-lipped grin. “Something I’ll be willing to bet you haven’t had in a long while.”

Link returned her grin with one of his own and a curt nod.

“Hmm. Tell me about it. I’ll make sure to be there.”

He watched her turn away and finally he moved from his seat to leave, stuffing his hat into one of his pockets before slipping around the tables against the wall and exiting the bar. He paused, noting that the earlier drizzle had now become a steady downpour. Frowning, Link muttered a series of curses about rain and decided to wait it out somewhere dry before getting his arm looked at: he had plenty of time until he had to be at Impa’s house to meet up with Verida.

Spotting a dry patch beneath a tin roof awning across the street he flipped the hood of his cloak over his head and darted for it, breathing deeply once he reached the safety of dryness. Leaving his cloak on he removed his sword and shield and pressed his back against the wall, slowly sliding down it until he sat on the dry ground and his legs were stretched comfortably out before him.

Link shifted his back against the wall, feeling warm and comfortable despite the cold, the rhythmic pat of the drops on his boots and the clicking and tapping on the roof above lulled him gently into a light doze, where he dreamed of little dragons that stole his food and called him friend.

* * *

He woke suddenly to a door ramming itself into his right shoulder, sending sparks tingling down his scarred arm and a sharp curse under his breath, which he managed to bite back so that he didn’t say anything he shouldn’t.

Really, it wasn’t the smartest thing he could have done: falling asleep beside a shop door…

“I’m so sorry,” someone began, but Link just held up his bad hand. "There's no need. I really shouldn't have dozed, especially here. Sitting in front of a door…" He trailed off, about to say more, but then his ears picked up a sharp intake of breath and he looked up to see what had frightened them.

“Didn’t I see you before, at the library?”

Link stared, blinking rapidly. “Shadow?” The blue-eyed young man ran a hand through his short dark hair. “Yes. Link, was it?” Link nodded, and upon closer inspection it appeared that Shadow’s face had a few small scratches that, though they appeared to be healing, hadn’t been there before. He seemed more wary as well, but Link knew that traveling alone could be difficult, and perhaps a few close calls had instilled this change in the other man.

Shadow glanced down and noticed his arm, and he frowned slightly.

“I can help with that. Would like me to dress it for you?”

Link simply stared dumbly at him. “R-Really? You’d do that?” Shadow shrugged, then nodded once. “It’s not like I have anywhere else to be right now.” He paused, as though thinking deeply, but he just sighed and shook his head. “I came to buy some shingles from the blacksmith in the hopes that I’d be able to use them before the skies opened up, but… well.” He shrugged, offering Link a sheepish smile.

“Looks like that’s not going to happen now, is it?”

Shadow glanced down at the burn on Link’s arm as he knelt beside him. “Besides, that’s something of a nasty burn. I have some salves with me that’ll heal it right up, I just need to wrap your arm in some bandages to speed up the process.”

Link thought it over. Having Shadow tend to his arm would save him the trouble of seeking out the Potion Shop in Kakariko and having it looked at there. So finally he simply nodded and rolled up his sleeve so that the entire burn was revealed. Shadow winced as he sat firmly on the ground next to Link, all the while pulling out a tin of thick, minty cream and a roll of bandages.

“I’m curious, how did you get it? Most of the fire-breathing monsters are only up in the mountains.”

Link thought for a moment but decided it couldn’t hurt to tell the young man at least a little of the truth. And maybe a few little lies couldn’t hurt either.

“That’s where I was when I got it,” he said, hissing as Shadow took off his gauntlets and began gingerly applying cream to the burn, “I was looking into a situation with the Gorons, since no one has heard from them in days. I planned to start with the Cavern first, and upon finding nothing, I became careless and didn’t think to keep up my guard when I made for the exit.” He sighed, mostly in bliss, since now he could feel the cream beginning to work wonders on the tight, hot skin of the burn.

Shadow nodded. “I’d heard something was wrong, but I couldn’t ever confirm it.” His brows pulled together slightly, and his gaze turned distant for a moment as he unrolled some of the bandages before fixing back on Link again. “You’re a brave man to go up the mountain alone, even…”

His eyes locked on the spot where the Master Sword and his shield lay propped against the wall. Shadow blinked, finally turning back to Link’s arm as he began to bandage it and press the cream firmly to Link’s skin.

“…even prepared,” he finished.

“Brave, or perhaps foolish, I’ve yet to figure it out. Either way, I’m not going up there again until a friend of mine can take off and come with me.”

Shadow chuckled, almost done with the bandages.

“Fool or not, I have to commend you. I doubt I’d ever have the courage.”

Link should his head, adamant. “You have your own weapons, right?” he pointed out, “You travel the quicker paths because you can defend yourself, and you do it often because you have business here, but it’s still a hard road especially under Ganondorf’s rule.” He noticed Shadow’s gaze harden, though he wasn’t aware of the reason.

“You have courage enough, I’m sure.”

The was a moment of heavy silence between the two as Shadow finished binding the bandages and replaced his things into the bag he had slung over his shoulder beneath his black cloak. It seemed to lift after a few moments more however, for the slightest of smiles could be seen teasing the edges of Shadow’s lips.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. Thank you, my friend.” He paused, seemingly unsure of himself. “Can I call you that? Friend?”

Link tilted his head in consideration. Sure, why not?

“Of course. You’ve helped me out, after all. I owe you that much.” Then he flashed Shadow a brilliant smile that the other man couldn’t help but return. Shadow stood up then, and offered his left hand for Link to grasp. Link took it and pulled himself up, turning to pick up his sword and shield to reattach them beneath his cloak.

“I don’t exactly live real close to a lot of other people,” Shadow said at last, “so… thank you. Would you mind meeting me at the archery range in three days? Around noon? I’d like to see you again.”

Link thought for a moment before nodding slowly in confirmation.

“Can’t say that’ll I’ll be able to make it, but I’ll do my best.”

Shadow nodded to show that he understood. “I hope your investigation with the Gorons goes well. You’ve got a real gem in that friend of yours that’s going with you; be sure to keep them.” Link nodded. “Of course. I’ve known them since we were children, so I’m certain I can count on them.”

He watched as Shadow readjusted the strap of his bag underneath his cloak and glance over at the pace of the rain.

“Looks like it’s beginning to peter out some. Shouldn’t be a terrible walk home.” Shadow glanced in Link’s direction and threw him another smile. “I wish you luck, Link.” And finally he turned and started off down the road out of the village, flipping the hood of his cloak over his head as he walked. Link stayed there for a few moments more before deciding to head down to the library; there were a few more books he’d like to look at before heading over to Impa’s house…

* * *

“So he wants you to go into Death Mountain Crater with him?” Impa asked Verida seriously. Verida nodded, dressed in her traveling clothes again, mostly because she wanted to be out of that stupid dress.

“I’ve been thinking, and maybe I don’t _need_ a Goron Tunic. If I _am_ a fire user, then the heat of the volcano shouldn’t kill me if I stay there too long.”

She paused, leaning against the far wall of Impa’s personal library as she stared at the large area rug in the middle of the room. “At least… I think.” Impa sighed. “I still want you to be prepared. Do you remember the spell we found that charms clothing?” Verida nodded again.

“I do. I’ll charm my cloak or something. Can’t be too hard.”

“Verida,” Impa murmured warningly. Verida held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m not being cavalier about this, I swear! I just… agh.”

Verida shook her head and massaged her temples to lessen her headache.

“I promise,” she told Impa seriously, “I’ve truly been thinking about it all day. This is a different situation from the forest, and I understand that. Taking precautions is something to be planned with the utmost care, and I swear to you that I am…” she shot Impa a pitiful look.

“Sorry, just being in that dress all day has put me on edge. I hadn’t realized how much they could do that until I spent a couple days in breeches…”

Impa chuckled, relieved at last to hear the girl resume her usual complaints. It wasn’t like her to be so… responsible, though perhaps she was simply just growing up. Prior to sneaking off to the Temple she’d been a polite and obedient student, though she was also headstrong and stubborn to a fault, and to watch those faults morph or fade away entirely in the span of a few weeks was startling. What would her father say, she wondered…

“I understand. I was just making sure you were doing everything you could. If Darunia is dead as you assume, then that dragon is more trouble than it seems. After all, Link specifically asked for your help in defeating it.”

Verida shook her head.

“He only asked because he knew the dragon when he was a child, and he’d grown close enough to it to call the dragon a friend. He’s come to terms with the fact that the only way to free Volvagia from Ganondorf’s curse is to kill him, but he’s finding that hard to do because of the way he feels towards the dragon and he wants my help.”

Impa frowned. “Help with what? Remind him of what he needs to do?”

Verida shrugged. “It’s entirely possible it’s as simple as that. I may not even have to lift a finger to help. I don’t know. But I _will_ be prepared to fight if it comes to that. I promised Link.”

Just then there was a knock on the door and Anju poked her head in.

“Link is here,” she informed them, “And dinner will be ready soon.”

They both nodded in confirmation and wrapped up their research session to wash up and head for dinner.

* * *

The next day Verida contacted Malon and told her she might not be able to come to the ranch, and Link was given a new shirt to replace his burnt one as his Goron Tunic was repaired, after which the two warriors enjoyed another fine breakfast cooked by Anju and suited up shortly afterwards to begin to trek up the mountain.

Both Link and Verida were mostly silent while on the path, with the exception of the occasional warning from Link and reply from Verida. This was mostly due to Link’s unusual mood caused by his conversation with Impa that very morning when he asked if she knew Zelda’s whereabouts, and she had replied that she did not. She did assure him of her safety, but the knowledge that he couldn’t even see the Princess he was tasked with protecting irritated him.

After going through the events of the morning, as well as a giving a quick stock-taking of their friendship, Verida finally managed to pinpoint the general cause of Link’s distress and she confronted him about it just after he had led Verida through Goron City to the temple shortcut in Darunia’s chambers.

“Link, stop a moment please.”

He turned, only a few paces away from a giant stone statue of a Goron that stood before a dark tunnel that flowed with rich, rolling waves of heat.

“Yes?” he asked her quietly. Verida fixed him with a gentle but accusatory stare. “You’ve been… _different_ this morning. Is it because of what Impa told you?” Link immediately straightened, surprise flitting across his features.

“How did you know?”

Verida grinned, silently thanking the Three that she had regained most of her memories of her friend to know him so well.

“Just a very good guess,” she answered, “but since you’ve pretty much confirmed it, I wanted to remind you of our purpose here.” Link frowned, folding his arms. “And this is supposed to help me… how? It’s not a better train of thought than a missing Princess.” Verida chuckled darkly.

“Impa told you she was safe, Link, and she told you the truth. I told you a week ago about my Sheikah powers, one of which being the ability to discern truth from falsity? I can verify her truth. That’s all you need to know, or at least that’s all _Impa_ thinks you need to know.”

Verida folded her arms and frowned slightly, but more or less kept her usual relaxed posture.

“I don’t necessarily agree with that, but… it’s not my place to.”

She fixed him with a hard stare. “And as for the dragon… it may be no better train of thought than your previous one, but we have a higher purpose here, and that purpose is to free Volvagia and the Fire Temple from the curse laid upon it, and awaken the Sage of Fire.”

Link sighed, nodding slowly. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Verida flashed him a tender, jovial grin. “Good to see that your head is in its proper place.”

He chuckled. “I don’t recall it going anywhere.” Verida shrugged.

“Well, you’re weren’t talking to me the whole way here. It made me nervous, and I don’t want to have to count on my sketchy magical ability to have to save me in case something happens. I need you on my side, Link.”

Link nodded again, serious this time.

“I apologize. It’s a good thing I’ve already cleared the temple, since all we have to do is reach its lair and…” Link’s ears twitched, picking up a low rumbling from deep inside the Crater. Verida blinked. “What was that?”

There was silence for a few moments while Link frowned at the darkness.

“I’m not sure…” he finally murmured to the quiet, stifling air, “but I have bad feeling about this.” Verida could feel it too. That sick feeling she’d gotten when Link had told her about Darunia was back, though it felt different. More like a warning to approach the situation with caution.

Verida reached up and put a hand to Link’s shoulder.

“Come on, let’s go. We can do this.” And Link nodded in confirmation, taking her hand and leading her through the darkness of the tunnel.

For a long time there was nothing but pitch dark.

All Verida could feel was the tight grasp of Link’s fingers against hers, the walls around them, and the ground beneath them. The walls were warm, and they grew hot and hotter as they progressed; becoming a roasting warmth that Verida _knew_ would have burnt her fingers like Link’s arm had been if she weren’t a fire user. A few times she stumbled as Link led her through the dark, her feet unprepared for the sudden shifts downward or upward as the tunnel snaked its way to Death Mountain Crater.

Then all of a sudden there was light: hot and blazing, sweltering light. Verida winced, closing her eyes and trusting Link to help her the rest of the way while she adjusted to the intensity of the Crater. She could feel the rumblings beneath her feet now; and the ground shook beneath them.

“Do you feel that?” Link whispered after they’d made it across the broken bridge to the pedestal with the Fire Temple’s emblem. Verida nodded.

“It’s… getting closer.” She was almost hesitant to say so.

And why did she feel like they needed to be somewhere other than standing on the Fire Temple’s pedestal? Sighing, she took a glanced towards where Link had told her the temple would be, and she was about to look away after a moment but something told her not to look away.

 _Stay_ , her mind said, _look here… look here…_!

_Now… jump!_

There was no time between the strange command and the rapid flash of scales and fire that flew past them as Verida’s hand shot out, dragging them out of the way of the speeding dragon. Link’s jaw had gone slack, and he was staring at the sight of his cursed friend tossing a roar in their direction with wide eyes.

Verida wasn’t sure whether he was staring in terror… or sorrow.

What she did know was that the dragon was getting away, because it started circling higher and higher towards the lip of the volcano.

“Link!” she snapped, getting his attention, “Don’t let it get away! Use your bow and arrows to bring its attention back to us!” When he didn’t move she got closer and growled at him, “Don’t hesitate!” and that got him moving at last despite the flash of anger that had crossed his face. He _had_ asked her to help him, even if that meant making him fight his friend.

With the help of the bow’s fairy magic his arrows flew straight and true, the last of his volley hitting Volvagia square between the eyes. He screeched in pain, glancing down to glare at his attackers. He dived, but Link was ready for him when he got close, wielding a hammer Verida had never seen him use before with both hands, bringing it down on the thick plate of bone that covered the dragon’s soft facial tissue. The impact sent a great fissure down the center so that both sides snapped clean off, and the pain brought the dragon completely from the air, head whipping back and forth on the ground as the rest of its body fell on the side, tail dipping in the lava, claws clinging to the side of the rock in a rigid death grip.

Verida stepped closer, reminding Link that he needed to use the sword to cut off the dragon’s head to kill it. Now that the head was exposed…

Volvagia roared, sending them both stumbling. Link dropped the hammer as he was thrown back by a swipe of the dragon’s talons, and Verida stood frozen, unable to move. She finally glanced back, stumbling for the hammer, managing to grasp it just before the other talons grabbed at her legs.

She couldn’t help but let loose a terrified scream as it dragged her across the rock, closer and closer to the lava. She hadn’t prepared for _this_. Fire wouldn’t harm her; she knew that – but lava? Still clutching the hammer she tried using it as leverage to keep from sliding back, but it was no use. “Link!” she cried, truly frightened now, but she knew that even running at full speed towards them he was just too far away… and that was when she went over the edge.

Later she would remember that she’d taken a breath before they broke the surface of the molten rock, like when one takes a breath before diving into deep water. Panic overtook her then, and when the dragon pulled her close her magic spiked in time with the adrenaline in her system, flaring wildly with little sense of direction. It spread, latching onto anything that would keep her from dying, keep her alive, and it found the hammer in her hands, the dragon that held her, and the lava beneath them.

Her hands swung of their own accord, slamming the hammer against the dragon’s chest. The magic that had sparked in the hammer hit a nerve in Volvagia’s spine, making him twist and curl lengthwise just before the lava engulfed them. It rose up to meet them, propelling them back to the rock formation from which they’d come, and they rolled across the rock in a quivering, steaming heap. Volvagia’s grip on Verida loosened and she rolled away, still clutching the hammer to her chest.

Link was standing, watching the scene with a mix of horror and despair, but when he saw the lava bring the two back up to the platform he scrambled back and drew his sword so that when Volvagia hit the ground he would have the best chance to cut off his head and end his suffering.

Tears stung Link’s eyes as he lifted the sword above his head – thankfully he hadn’t had far to run when the dragon had landed – and the sacred steel sliced clean through skin and bones to cut off the flow of blood.

And then the world went silent.

For a few moments there was no sound, no movement, and in a rush it all came back: Verida’s quick, rapid gasps, Volvagia’s thick, rasping breathes, and his own breathing echoing in his ears while the ground beneath them soaked up the dragon’s blood like a sponge. Link fell to his knees, crooning softly as tears fell unbidden from his eyes. The dragon smiled, and the film that had previously covered its irises was gone at last. Volvagia's eyes flickered in Link's direction, and upon noticing his tears the dragon managed to whisper a few last words in the hopes that he could comfort his grieving friend.

“ _… I love you… Link._ ”

He smiled, ever so slightly, and closed his eyes as death came for him at last.

Link stood up then, steeling himself so that he could pull away to check on Verida. When last he’d looked, she’d been pressed firmly against a nearby pillar, clutching the Megaton Hammer. Now, she was no longer holding the hammer but she was still shaking from the receding rush of adrenaline her panic attack had brought with it.

“Are you all right?” he asked her gingerly as he crouched next to her.

She frowned, appearing to search for the right words but failing to come up with any. She took in a deep breath, holding it for a while, until finally she had regained the capacity to process the world around her. It was difficult, what with the jumbled mess of images that were crowding her head and making her temples throb, but after she’d taken a few moments to calm down, clear her mind and collect her thoughts she was able to compose herself again.

“I’m not dead,” she finally managed to say. “I think that should suffice.”

Link made a half-hearted attempt at a chuckle, but the death of Volvagia was still too near to his heart. Already had the dragon’s body disappeared in a flash of light that left behind the portal back to the Sacred Realm, but Link’s mind was still stuck in the past, kneeling beside his dragon friend.

“Hey,” he whispered, “I’ve got to go, but… I promise I’ll be back soon. Then, when you’ve recovered enough, I’ll walk with you back to the village. How does that sound?”

Verida nodded in agreement.

“Sounds good. You do what you have to do. I’ll just… sit here and be grateful there’s solid ground underneath me.” She flashed him a wry smile that Link managed to return with genuine spirits before disappearing into the light. Verida sighed deeply, resting her head against the pillar while she waited for her heart to stop racing.

If that panic attack hadn’t happened… would she still be alive?

She opened her eyes again and shook her head free of such thoughts. Sitting back against the pillar again, she reminded herself that she couldn’t afford to think that way. Thinking like that wasn’t going to help Link in the slightest…

…but practicing would.

Verida resolved then to do whatever she could to teach herself how to wield her magic. Impa’s books had taught her more than enough, but now it was time to put those words into practice. So, when Link returned from the Sacred Realm with the Fire Medallion in hand, he found a different Verida waiting for him than the one he had left.

She stood away from the pillar, watching a ball of molten lava swirling in delicate patterns just an inch from her hands. She looked up, glancing from… whatever it was she was doing, and he noticed something different in her gaze, though he couldn’t put it a name to it for the life of him.

“Ready?” she asked, the swirling ball of lava still floating above her hands.

Link nodded, and Verida grinned at him, finally tossing the ball over her shoulder back into the Crater from whence it came.

“All right, let’s go. If there’s still time maybe I can ride out to the ranch and give Malon a fighting lesson for the day.” Link nodded in agreement. “And maybe I can come with you,” he offered. Verida hummed concurringly. “I’m sure seeing Epona again would lift her spirits.”

So the two of them walked back through Goron City and down the mountain path, but just before they were about to cross the boundary between the village and the mountain Link called Verida to stop. She paused, quiet, but curious.

“What is it?” she asked him.

“Just… I wanted to say thank you.” He shrugged sheepishly. “For everything. Coming with me last week to the Forest Temple, and today helping me face my fears so that I could bring peace to the Fire Temple…” Verida nodded her head in thanks, chuckling lightly. “I suppose we have each other to be thankful for. Not all of my missing memories have cleared, but I have this feeling that they’ll come back to me in time, and I have you to thank for being the catalyst of their return.”

She wasn’t going to admit that seeing the Spiritual Stones had given her back the first of her memories, but it was only one memory among many and telling Link that he’d brought them back to her just sounded more poetic.

Just then a clear wind gusted down from the mountain, drawing their gazes to look up at the rim of the volcano. Above it swirled a collection of intense clouds composed of bright red fire, though not a moment later the color dimmed and flashed brightly, returning the circling vapors to their usual spotless white. The sight brought a smile to Verida’s lips, as that cloud had been that way for seven long years.

Catching Link’s attention, she jerked her head in the direction of the clouds and flashed him a wry smile.

“And Hyrule thanks you as well, I see.”

Then she turned back down the path and beckoned him with a wave. “Well? Aren’t you coming? I’d like to get to the ranch in time for a late lunch!” She winked, and that took Link by surprise. “Malon’s no Anju,” she admitted with a laugh, “but she’s still a wonderful cook.”

That earned a smile from Link, and after taking one last look at Death Mountain and promising to always keep his friend in his heart, he turned towards the village and followed Verida back down the path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to use the actual Death Mountain Crater for the fight against Volvagia because I needed two things to happen: 
> 
> 1) I needed Volvagia to fall into the lava with Verida (for character development purposes) and...  
> 2) Trying to write the fight in the Temple just wasn't going anywhere and I needed something that would work.
> 
> We're almost to the point where I'll be doing more editing than writing new stuff, but then I've been saying that for the last few chapters now...


	7. Fateful Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and Verida part ways again after coming back from Death Mountain. Now it's Verida's turn to meet the mysterious Shadow, first while serving as a barmaid on the main thoroughfare and again at Lon Lon Ranch where she makes a promise to meet him for a third time. Meanwhile, Verida's dreams are becoming more and more bizarre...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I've taken a few creative liberties and given the medieval world of Hyrule some pocket watches, as well as table-side miniature and grandfather clocks. Also, I had no idea how to go about researching how bathrooms work in a world like this so I made up my own concepts.

After Link and Verida had arrived back at Impa’s house, Link decided to ask Verida if she would like to come along and help as she had before. 

Surprisingly, she found herself refusing.

“I’d like to, Link, but… there are things I need to do.” She ran a hand through her bright auburn hair that smelt of ash and sulfur. “In the state my magic’s in, I won’t be of much help to anyone.” Something dawned on Link’s face then, and he nodded. “So that’s what the deal with the lava ball was. I understand.” 

He inclined his head to her.

“I promise that I’ll come find you again if I need you. But… _you_ ,” he returned, gesturing to her with an impish grin, “have to promise you’ll be ready if I do.” Verida nodded, a fierce look in her eyes. “I swear it. Good luck, and be safe.” They embraced, and Link left to fetch Epona from the stables.

That… had been five days ago. 

This time when her friend was gone, Verida felt less anxious than she had when he’d gone up Death Mountain for a week without sending word.

He’d managed it this time, but the news hadn’t been good. Apparently something was wrong with Zora’s Domain, and he hadn’t figured out what it was yet. Or at least he hadn’t found the source. His letter, while relatively well written with a surprisingly legible penmanship, had been somewhat obscure about the details, but she’d gotten the message that he was going to the lake to figure out where it was. 

She had continued to go out to Lon Lon Ranch every other day as promised, and today was yet another of her off days. She could be back in Impa’s study, practicing, but she’d been doing that ever since the Lady Impa had left that morning on another errand.

Those errands Impa kept going on… she came back each time with a grim look on her face and a sheen of sweat across her brow. It worried Verida more than Link’s problems, but she had the feeling that even if she were to ask, Impa wouldn’t tell her. She hadn’t seen Sheik in a while either, though he’d mentioned something to her the day before she’d gone to the temple about an extended mission. 

These were the thoughts that kept her company as she cleaned the glass mugs in the kitchen of the bar on the main thoroughfare, though she was careful not to let them absorb her work because the owner had a keen eye for stray particles of dirt or grime on his dishes, and she wanted to do a decent job if she wanted to be paid what the man insisted on paying her for her services.

“Verida!” came the man’s voice again as he passed by her, handing her a serving apron. “You’re up!” She nodded. “Bar duty again?” He nodded and disappeared into the back room. Slipping into the apron, she grabbed a stray white kerchief and used it to keep her hair out of her eyes. 

A young man that looked strikingly similar to Link was staring at her as she approached, though she knew he wasn’t Link at all. His skin was an attractive tan color that was deeper than Link’s that said to her he’d probably spent some time growing up in the desert. His hair was midnight black and the angles of his face were sharper, telling her that he was no stranger to the harshness of the world.

The sword and shield strapped told her much the same story.

It was the eyes that held her attention. Their striking blueness reminded her so much of her friend, but there was something about them that bothered her; perhaps it was that the colors were too bright, or the intensity of them was too deep. Despite the flush that lightly dusted his cheeks, his eyes held too much emotion to be real. 

Still, she eased her lips into a gentle smile and asked what he wanted to order.

He blinked stupidly, and suddenly she felt her own face flush slightly at his stunned attention. Finally, she cleared her throat. “Ah, sir? Your order?” More blinking, though this time he managed to meet her eyes. “Order? Um… just tea, thank you.” 

She grinned, tilting her head slightly. He was slightly adorable like that, speechless and struck dumb at the sight of a waitress (she’d been told by Anju and several others that she was lovely, but she couldn’t fathom how).

“Do you have any particular flavor you’d like?”

He shrugged, now opting to observe a spot of the counter as though it were the most interesting thing in the world.

“Not really. But… whatever you’d like to recommend is fine.” Verida frowned, but shrugged it off. He looked a little down on his luck, so perhaps if he ordered a few more than she might consider paying for his drinks. It wasn’t a habit so much as it was just something she felt like doing, but first she had to take the orders of the others waiting further down the bar.

Finally she’d gotten them all down and she began fetching the drinks in the kitchen. No one was allowed to order alcohol until later at night because heavy taxes under the Evil King’s regime had forced the wineries to raise their prices and it had become almost impossible to transport the goods safely. 

So, in the mornings, most people ordered the Fairy Whiskey, food, or… tea.

Verida served them in reverse order; finally coming around to the disheveled young man again that she now noticed was wearing a black traveling cloak and tunic. Gingerly, she set down the warm cup of tea that she’d brewed herself (speeding up the process by using her magic – just a little) and she smiled at him as he looked up sheepishly from behind a mostly clean handkerchief. A favor, perhaps? No, it was too sturdy to be a woman’s. 

“Thank you,” he whispered, taking a sip. His half lidded eyes closed for a moment in brief bliss before he groaned softly in pleasure. 

“This is wonderful,” he murmured quietly, “How much is it?” 

She shook her head. “It’s on me,” she said with a smug smile of appraisal. “And don’t try to insist on paying. I’ll just slip whatever you try to pay back on you somehow.” He laughed, and his eyes lit up in a strangely familiar way that made her wonder if she’d seen him before.

“Say, have we met?” she asked after the thought had prompted her to do so.

The young man frowned, staring at her for a moment before shrugging. “It’s entirely possible,” he told her slowly. “Do you go out of the village often?” Verida nodded, folding her arms in a relaxed pose. “Every other day. Perhaps we saw each other in passing?” He nodded again thoughtfully, taking another sip of his tea. 

“Yes, it’s entirely possible.” Then he flashed her a gentle grin and in what appeared to be a shy bid for boldness said to her honestly, “I think I would remember someone as beautiful as you, though.” 

She flushed, managing to recover quickly by chuckling sheepishly as she picked up her serving tray. 

“You flatter me, sir. But please, flag me down if you need anything else.”

He was there for a long time, only ordering that same tea twice and a light meal somewhere in between, but he really did look quite pathetic in that adorable way that abandoned puppies did sometimes. No one came for him or talked to him, so even after Verida was shifted back to kitchen duty she came out ever so often to check on him. When he finally left she reminded him that his purchases were on her, which he reluctantly allowed despite the shadow of a grimace on his face.

He seemed to relax when she smiled at him after he’d collected his things.

“Thanks for the tea,” he said quietly, “it helped quite a bit.” Verida nodded with a slight tilt of her head. “That’s good. Have a safe journey home.”

It was only when she was walking home later that night that she remembered where she’d seen him. They had glimpsed each other that first day she’d gone out to help Malon. She remembered wondering if she’d ever see him again, and she idly wondered that same thing now. Would it be a terribly long time until that happened? They were just two strangers really, with nothing in common but a glance and a brief conversation at a bar.

Despite this however, it wouldn’t be long at all.

* * *

_Verida blinked slowly, awareness unhurried in her fog-addled mind._

_She stood on a round pedestal in a circular room made of stones and mortar. All around her sat piles of books: some stacked neatly and others haphazardly pressed against the walls with assorted magical artifacts scattered throughout the piles. There was also a touch of deepness to the place that told her she was underground, though it couldn’t be very far because there was sunlight streaming through a skylight above her._

_Her mental faculties were returning at this point; so she tried to glance down to examine what she was wearing, but the edges of her sight dimmed slightly, as though these details were not important._

_Regardless, Verida could make out a very fine silk dress with multiple layers of fabric below the waist that was elaborately decorated with pearls and other tiny assorted gems. She lifted a hand and saw fine silk gloves covering all but her palms and the pads of her fingers. Her fingers brushed against the weight on her head, and she could tell that something delicate and studded with gems was binding her thick hair behind her with the aid of a net of more pearls._

_‘ **What is this? I don’t own anything this fine…** ’_

_Even as she frowned at her attire, Verida turned around at the distant call of something more interesting that drew her attention away from the oddities of the place she’d found herself in. She wanted to scowl again at the observation she’d made that she wasn’t thinking like she should, but that call was so much more **fascinating** …_

_Her ears pricked at the sound of something… something ticking. It was at that moment that she realized that there were also several clocks and watches sitting on and around the piles of books and assorted magical artifacts. Some were working, but most were not, though she had a strong feeling that if she so much as looked at the golden pocket watch lying at her feet, she could concentrate and will it to work again for her own viewing pleasure._

_A smile slowly made its way to her face, and a vague sense of pride rumbled through her chest, a laugh that was and wasn’t a laugh._

_Then she looked up and across from where she stood, glancing demurely in the direction of a rather attractive looking grandfather clock. In its large glass face she could make out a silhouette, but none of the features of her image. She frowned. The swinging pendulum below it was distracting her from focusing on her reflection. Perhaps if she willed it to stop?_

_Her magic rushed to her when she called, but there was something different about it – something fluid and malleable but at the same time unyielding and refined that to her said **power** more than the sheer force of the volcano’s fire ever had._

_But it was definitely hers._

_The edges of her vision shimmered again, but this time instead of dimming they sharpened, all things but the focal point of her gaze – the pendulum – turning to stark shades of black, white, and gray._

_**Tick, tock.** Swing. **Tii..ck… too..ck.** Swing._

_Slowly, the pendulum began to still, without any movement on Verida’s part. Time stopped for the clock, though it had the capability to work if she wanted it to. But finally the grandfather clock uttered one last ‘tock’ before coming to a complete halt, clearing the glass face for Verida to look upon._

_She stilled. That face…_

_A woman looked out at her from the glass, striking aqua blue eyes staring out from a iron expression etched into soft, pale skin rimmed with rivulets of dark, inky curls streaked with glittering strands of aqua blue, gold, and silver._

_“ **Come** ,” said the woman, “ **Find me.** ”_

* * *

Verida sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide and heart racing, a hand pressed to her chest. She gasped, trying to calm the alarming pace of her heart. In a slight thrill of panic, she held up her arm, but it was as she expected to be: clothed in the slight cotton shift she’d gone to bed in.

With a deep sigh she pulled herself into a sitting position and leaned heavily against the wooden surface of her headboard. 

Her gaze glanced about the room to make sure it was her own, and while there were almost as many books scattered about in piles neatly stacked or messily stuffed in shelves and on her desk that was next to her dresser, it was thankfully made of insulation and wallpaper instead of stone. Once her heart was beating normally again she slipped out of bed and sifted through her clothes until she found a burgundy colored tunic and a pair of tan breeches before she slunk off to the changing rooms to dress. 

Anju looked over from her place at the grill when she heard the sound of shuffling feet enter the kitchen.

Impa, who was also sitting at the table, glanced over as Verida entered.

“Good morning. You’re up late.” She shot Verida a smirk, which let the young woman know that her mentor was only teasing. She returned the smile wearily. “I know. I had a strange dream last night. It probably kept me asleep for longer than I’m used to.”

She sat down, sighing deeply. 

“I just hope it doesn’t happen again. Sleeping in is just not my thing…”

Anju grinned, setting down a plate of eggs and bacon in front of Verida. “Well, hopefully that’ll wake you up! Want anything particular the drink?” Verida thought for a moment. “Ah… a cup of water, some cinnamon, and a bag of that apple flavored tea will do.”

She gave Verida a questioning look but got her what she asked for. Verida immediately set to work boiling the water and let the tea sit for a little bit before stirring in a pinch of sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon. She took a sip and proceeded to hum in contentment. 

That young man from last night was right: her tea was wonderful. 

As she ate her breakfast, the effects of the dream began to fall away, though it did still hang about the edges of her mind. Chatting with Impa about her improving skills and discoveries brought it to the forefront again, so she decided to at least mention the woman she’d seen in the glass.

Impa frowned, resting her chin on her hands.

“Her? Why would you be seeing her? I know for a fact that she died when Ganondorf attacked Kakariko during the siege.” Verida shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just a dream, though… I thought I should tell you just in case.” 

Impa nodded slowly as Verida handed Anju her empty cup and plate, thanking her ladyship for the delightful meal. 

“I’m off to the ranch!” she called. “I’ll see you later today!”

Her mentor nodded in return, but Verida’s dream had gotten her thinking. Why would she be dreaming about _her_ of all people, and why now? She had examined Verida’s energies again and it seemed to her that while her natural magic was emerging and assimilating into her active magic quite nicely, there was another, deeper magic that was attached to that lock on her memories that was also beginning to unravel. 

It felt… familiar. 

Impa stood, handing her dishes to Anju as well. She turned to exit the kitchen, following the path to her study. She had some research to do…

* * *

Blades clashed as Verida brought her sword upon Malon’s with all the force she could muster. Despite her skill however, all the force she used – momentum and all – was met with a brick wall of steel. 

Malon’s skills with the blade were as good as Verida could get them, and by now she was only going because the girl was a wonderful cook and clever when it came to sword fighting. She was agile from her days spent taming wild horses, and strong from lifting bales of hay and mucking out stalls. Fighting Malon kept her own skills sharp as well since Impa was either often out on an errand or helping her research or to practice her magical abilities and hardly had the time to help her with her swordsmanship.

Verida grinned as she whirled out of the other girl’s attempt to disarm her, and then it was Malon’s turn to advance. Verida ducked, the dirt under her heels grinding beneath the quick spin and quickly the sharp edge of the blade was pressed lightly against the skin of the other woman’s neck.

She stilled, groaning when she realized her mistake.

“Damn it all,” Malon swore under her breath in a way Verida was certain she only did when they practiced, “I left you room to escape didn’t I?”

Verida shrugged. “Yes, I suppose. But sometimes if your assailant is scared out of their wits they might forget that they have an escape window. Still, I would recommend that we continue doing this so we can work on your stamina. How long was that last one?”

Blue eyes glanced up at the painted wooden clock high up on the wall nearest them. “Oh, about an hour.” 

One of their stomachs growled, and finally they were able to determine that it had been Malon’s, both girls erupting into giggles. “Say,” Malon said at last, “why don’t I get started on something for lunch? You can go get your pack ready for the trip back to the village?” Verida nodded in agreement. “You do that. I’ll be back soon to help out.”

Malon shrugged and waved her off. “Don’t be silly. Take your time. Go ride Shadow around the corral or something. I set up an obstacle course!”

Verida grinned, thinking to herself that she might do just that.

Just as she shut the door however, Verida’s ears caught the sound of a familiar voice drifting in from the direction of the corral. Quickly, her brows furrowing in confusion, she rushed into the stables to fix up her saddle packs with the practice weapons and out again to investigate.

Upon reaching the threshold of the greater ranch proper, she saw two figures standing near the entrance to the corral. One of them was Link, telling her that she’d heard correctly, however the other… Verida felt her lips draw into a scowl as her brows knit closer together. The other figure was the young man she’d looked after yesterday. 

She leaned against the side of the open gate and tilted her head to listen, as the conversation appeared to be of a private nature and she didn’t want to interrupt, though she did have to wonder how Link and the other young man knew each other.

“So?” Link pressed gently, “Are you interested?” 

She could see his face from where she stood, though only just. The other young man was easier to read physically despite that she couldn’t see his face or hear any inflections in his voice. His body betrayed him quite nicely on its own, though she doubted that Link would notice.

“I don’t know… it sounds dangerous.” 

There was nothing in his voice to show that he was afraid, but the way that his hand clenched and unclenched nervously was enough. 

Link folded his arms and gave the dark-haired young man an unamused look. 

“I thought you said you _wanted_ to come! Besides, you know the lake better than anyone I know, and I was kind of hoping to I wouldn’t have to traverse it alone.” The young man folded his arms as well, though it was probably because he’d noticed the thing he’d been doing with his hands. 

“Well I’ve never been to the _bottom_ of the lake, exactly… and what about your friend? Didn’t you say she could help you?” 

Evidently that hadn’t been the answer Link had been looking for since he scowled at the dark-haired young man even though he did his best not to out of habit. 

“She’s busy. As much as I enjoy her company, she has other commitments right now.” Verida could’ve sworn he lowered his voice half an octave to mutter something that sounded like, “Even though she’d probably come whether I was in trouble or not…” but Verida wasn’t certain.

He stared at the young man for a moment before pressing his fingers to his lips to whistle loudly in the direction of the corral. Epona was running about inside and pricked her ears at the sound. Verida tilted her head and nodded slightly with smirking smugly with approval. Evidently Link had spent enough time with the russet colored mare that he no longer needed the song to call her to him. 

Once she passed him, Link caught her reins and turned back to stare firmly in the other’s direction.

“I’ll be at the lake tomorrow morning. If you’re not there by the time the sun’s fully up, then I’ll go on alone.” She could tell it pained him to say this, but it seemed to work because the dark haired youth stiffened and looked back briefly in Link’s direction as he mounted Epona and rode towards the gate. 

As Link approached, his face turned from distant to mildly shocked as Epona neared the spot where Verida leaned against the side of the stables. “Oh,” he gasped quietly, “Hello Verida.” He frowned, tilting his head. 

“W-What are you doing here?” 

Verida jerked her head in the direction of the ranch house. “Malon. We’ve been sparring every other day. She’s pretty good with a broadsword, but you should see what she does with that Gerudo blade!” Verida flashed Link a grin. “Good luck with that thing at the lake. You know where to find me if you need me.” She noticed that he still seemed a little unsure so she walked up to him and put a hand on his arm because she couldn’t reach his shoulder while he was mounted on the horse. 

“Hey. It’s okay do things alone. You made it through the whole Fire Temple without me just fine. You’ll be alright, trust me.” 

She nodded sharply and caught his gaze even as an impish grin spread across her face. He returned the nod and grin as he clasped her hand tightly in thanks. “Yeah, I think you’re right. I’ll come see you again as soon as I can. I promise.” Verida nodded, and she let go of Link’s hand so that he could guide Epona back out into the fields.

As soon as Link was out of sight Verida’s attention immediately shifted to the dark haired youth who had just finished searching for answers in the dirt track around the corral and was trudging towards the exit.

“Excuse me,” Verida said lightly as she cleared her throat, “but haven’t we met?” 

Verida grinned as the young man jumped in surprise, blue eyes wide with a slight thrill of terror. She would’ve smiled, but a flash of color in his eyes made her pause as her senses tingled with the activation of magic nearby. She wasn’t good enough to be able to tell where it was coming from, especially since it was such a small thing, and so her expression softened into general curiosity rather than the mischievousness she had been going for.

“What?” he muttered, confused. He frowned at her, squinting a little, before blinking rapidly in surprise.

“You’re that girl from yesterday…”

A wry smile spread across his face as he glanced at her outfit in approval. “You look good in traveling gear. I’m surprised more women don’t learn to fight and suit up every once in awhile. I hear they used to back when the Mage Knights were in existence.”

Verida blushed and turned her head away, confused. How on earth did this boy set her on fire like this?

“Why thank you,” she muttered, having been about to ask about the Mage Knights until she noticed his grin and she turned back to frown at him. “And you look better without that cloud of doom and gloom hanging about you.”

And once the words were out of her mouth she instantly regretted them. This was mostly caused by the slight thrill of guilt (and was that fear?) that flashed across his face as he bowed his head to her in shame to apologize, though she wasn’t certain whether it was his comment or hers he was attempting to apologize for.

“I am sorry, I was out of line.”

“No, no…” Verida tried again, “I-I didn’t mean… oh.” She groaned and pressed a hand to her forehead. The youth chuckled softly. 

“No, you’re right. I’ve been rather out of sorts lately because of some… troubles I’ve been having at home. It’s quite all right and I’m glad you think that I look better without my troubles hanging about me in a cloud of… how did you put it? Doom and gloom?” He flashed her a mischievous grin. “I think I should be flattered that a lady such as yourself thinks so highly of me. After all, you don’t even know me.”

As he had been speaking, Verida slowly removed her palm from her forehead and tried her best not to stare piteously in his direction. After all, she hadn’t liked it when people accidentally reminded her about her own family troubles (or lack thereof) so she doubted that he would either, polite as he was.

When he was finished, she smiled sadly at him and shook her head.

“My comment was out of turn as well.” He shook his head slightly. “You didn’t know.” Verida shook her head again, adamant. “Doesn’t matter. I’m apologizing anyway. And don’t you dare try to refuse it, I’ll just keep offering until you accept.” He chuckled. “You said something to that effect when I tried to pay for my purchases yesterday. I take it this is a common occurrence?” She shrugged. “With this it is, I suppose.” Then, upon recalling the last thing he’d said, a thought occurred to her and she offered a hand to him accompanied by a proper grin. 

“And as for not even knowing you, perhaps we can remedy that?”

He took the half gloved hand that she offered him and shook it firmly. But just when she expected him to let go he turned her hand in his and bent to press his lips to brush her fingers, whispering just loud enough for her long ears to hear:

“I am called Shadow. My pleasure…?” He paused, waiting for her name.

This time Verida couldn’t look away to hide the flush of her cheeks. Her pulse thudded in her ears as they warmed with the flow of blood and she found it difficult to breathe for a moment. No one… had ever done this to her before.

“Verida,” she coughed, clearing her throat. “My name is Verida.”

Gently Shadow released her hand and offered her a short bow. “It was nice meeting you… formally at least.” Immediately he seemed to relax as he reached up to run a hand through his dark hair. “Say, would you mind coming back tomorrow? If… you’re not busy or anything.” Again, Verida felt warmth rush to her face. Now he wanted to see her again? What would Impa think?

She paused, her mind lingering on that last thought. 

Did it really matter what Impa thought? After all, she was a grown woman of age and was legally responsible for her own decisions. Besides, Verida thought as she glanced back up to catch Shadow’s pleading gaze, she was a Sheikah and she had her own kind of magic. She could take care of herself.

“When, exactly? I was planning on taking another shift at the bar.”

Without meaning to, her lips twisted slowly into a teasing smile. Something in that smile made Shadow relax even further, though this also revealed more of his underlying panic than he probably wanted to show. Verida wondered at it’s origin – since it was obvious to her now that _she_ wasn’t causing _that_ emotion in him – but it did make his already too bright eyes sparkle like the gems she’d seen in her dream and that somehow made him more striking than she thought a man should be allowed to be.

“Around noon,” he said softly, his breath ghosting her face from just a foot away, Verida blinking quickly as she noticed their sudden closeness. When had that happened? Her surprise was brushed aside as she looked up to be caught in his trap again, Shadow speaking as though every word were a secret. 

“Can you do that? I might be a little late, but…”

Verida stepped away, forcing out a short breath. Shrugging, she replied, “Yeah, I think so. So… tomorrow then?” She did her best to keep her face neutral, but inside she was scowling at her poor choice of words. Usually she was so eloquent – or, at the very least, passably articulate – even under an interrogation performed by Impa.

“Yeah,” Shadow whispered, “See you tomorrow.”

He grinned, and in what appeared to be the spur of the moment, reached for her hand and pressed another kiss to her knuckles as the panicked light in his eyes dimmed. His fingers let go of hers as quickly as they’d taken them, and he ran off before she could protest, chuckling to himself as he disappeared.

Malon opened the door of the ranch house just as he was running past her, and she looked around until she spotted Verida. She jerked her head in Shadow’s direction. “What’s up with him?”

Verida frowned, still staring at the hand he’d kissed as though it weren’t hers.

“I… have no idea.” She said honestly. Malon smirked as she noticed the faint flush of Verida’s cheeks, gathering enough information to draw her own secret conclusions. “Well, lunch is ready. Come on in and eat. I fixed up some of the glazed ham Dad picked up from a town just south of here.” That seemed to bring Verida back to herself, for she shrugged and nodded eagerly in Malon’s direction as she licked her lips appreciatively.

“Good, I’m starved.”

* * *

Impa could hear when Verida came back to the house when Anju exchanged greetings with her. Their walls were sturdy, but not always soundproof, so she also heard Verida’s footsteps as they passed her study’s door and into the room Impa had fitted into a small armory. 

Clinks and clatters told her that the young woman was unloading and replacing the gear she always took with her to the ranch, until they stopped and she exited the armory to remove her personal weapons in her room.

Impa glanced back down at the book she’d been absorbed in for some time now, trying to decipher the meanings of the words on the page. They were printed in a neat, flowery script that was probably legible to anyone fluent in the language, but to Impa’s knowledge, the language was a form Elvish that the Hylian language had been based on a very long time ago and Impa’s proficiency in reading it was childish at best. 

But, it was all she had on the subject she was researching. 

Her ears twitched again at the sound of Verida’s footsteps returning back towards the study, and Impa reached for a bookmark so that she could keep her place as she put the book to the side.

Not long afterwards, there was a knock at the door. 

“Come in,” Impa purred, watching the doorknob turn and Verida entered the room. Verida grinned, and Impa noticed a slight change in the way she held herself. She frowned slightly, knowing she’d seen that look before on someone else, but the recall eluded her and faded into a fog of memories.

“Good evening, Impa,” Verida greeted her, and Impa nodded in return. “Good evening. You look well. Did you and Malon have a successful sparring session?” Verida nodded, quickly moving over to the other side of the room where Impa kept her books on magic. “Yes,” she said idly, that slight smile still pulling at the edge of her lips. “It was a good session today. I’m glad for the chance to keep my skills sharp.” She pulled a book from one of the shelves on level with her chest and turned around to face Impa.

“Someone even complimented me today about it.” She looked at the book for a moment before pressing it to her chest and wrapping her arms around it.

“Do you mind if I take this to my room to read? I’m in the mood for quiet introspection tonight.” It didn’t appear to Impa to be so at that moment, but when she looked closer into Verida’s eyes she could see the thoughts swirling about inside her mind.

Impa nodded. “That’s quite all right. I believe I am feeling the same tonight… must be something in the air.” She inclined her head in Verida’s direction. “Just don’t forget about dinner. I’m certain Miss Anju will have something ready for us in a couple of hours.” 

Verida replied in agreement and left the room soon afterward. Impa’s eyes trailed to the book she’d closed when Verida had come into the room.

“Of course she wouldn’t miss it. She has always been so… punctual.”

* * *

_Verida gasped as her feet slammed hard against the stones beneath her feet. Light flooded the space around her from the entrance above, bits of rain pattering in sprinkles against her thick hair._

_She was late!_

_Her breath was knocked from her lungs as she fell against a thick wall, suddenly glad for its security. She leaned against it heavily, catching her breath, and when she was certain she could feel the tingling in her feet she pressed hard against it with her hands and stumbled down the dark hallway._

_She burst into a larger room with several pools of green sludge that she knew were poisonous to the touch. ReDeads were scattered about, but they were no threat to her. In fact, they moved out of her way as she darted around the pools of oozing green slime, inclining their heads to her in deference._

_A part of her, a very small part, wondered why she was running. Why hadn’t the ReDeads attacked her?_

_She also wondered what she was doing in the Tomb of the Composers, because when she stumbled into the next room, her eyes caught sight of the musical notation the Composer Brothers had inscribed on the wall: the Sun’s Song. She pressed a hand to her side, which ached terribly, feeling something warm and sticky soaking her clothes. Wait… was that?_

_The pain increased, and her eyes scrambled the walls for… there!_

_She reached up, trembling fingers brushing the clock face that was etched into the stone. It glowed with the presence of her magic, and it flashed once, drawing the shape of an ornate door in the wall before her. Her vision dimmed, and she felt herself sway. Each breath echoed in her ears._

_“Hurry,” she whispered in voice that was and wasn’t hers._

_Finally, the door was finished, and the stone inside the silhouette disappeared, opening the way for her. She reached for the wall in an attempt to drag herself ahead, but something in her lower body wasn’t working right and she fell forward, tumbling headfirst into darkness._

* * *

Verida swore, reaching up to brush her fingers against her head. She winced, feeling the soreness, but it wasn’t bleeding. Still half-asleep, she reached for her right side, expecting blood to be there, but… it wasn’t.

She frowned, and after a few moments, realized that she’d simply fallen out of bed. “Heh,” she snorted, “What a way to start a morning…”

Groaning, she pulled herself back onto her bed in a sitting position. She sat there, holding her head gingerly in one palm, recalling the vivid dream. It had felt so real, as though she had really been running from danger and needed to get to a safe place before she was found. She sighed. What was with her dreams lately? Granted, they hadn’t been as bizarre as the ones she’d had these past two nights, but… her dreams _had_ taken a strange turn ever since she’d gone to the Temple.

The small pendulum clock on her nightstand chimed softly, jerking Verida from her train of thought. Oh! Today was… today she was supposed to be at the ranch at noon to meet… Shadow.

Immediately she felt blood rush to her cheeks, and she shook her head, scowling. What was she doing, smiling goofily like a child at such thoughts? 

She glanced back at the time. It was only seven in the morning; noon was still five hours away. Rubbing the spot on her head that was now reduced to a low throbbing, she stood back up on feet that she knew wouldn’t fold beneath her, and began to ready herself for the day. She’d eat breakfast, go tell the owner of the bar on the thoroughfare that she wouldn’t be volunteering today and then she’d head to the ranch early and practice on that obstacle course.

As much as she’d like to come back and read more of the book she’d borrowed from Impa or practice with her magic, a knot of nervous excitement had tied itself up in her gut that she could not suppress. And while she tried to tell herself that it had nothing to do with their meeting today… 

It had absolutely everything to do with today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seven chapters in and I'm not even through with the second chapter of the original... this is going to take some time. (Shows me how much needed fixing though. Ugh.)


	8. Visit to Lake Hylia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Verida meets Shadow again at Lon Lon Ranch and the two head towards Lake Hylia to look at something Shadow found on the other side of the lake. While en route, they're attacked by several Tektites and Verida sends herself into a magically induced fever in order to save Shadow's life, leaving Shadow to look after her until the fever breaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've taken the liberty of borrowing the 'brightsteel' concept of Christopher Paolini. The properties that it exhibits within the context of the story are - as far as I know - entirely my own ideas. 
> 
> Also, Shadow has installed that same 'Spirited Away' bathhouse water concept as a sink in his cabin. (There was something similar mentioned about this in [Chapter 5](http://archiveofourown.org/works/696614/chapters/1377134), though that was outdoors. Same concept, only Shadow has worked his to function indoors.)

It was just fifteen minutes past noon when Shadow’s boots cut into the soft earth of the Lon Lon Ranch proper.

Today he wore a dark silver tunic highlighted with red thread over a standard white undershirt, black cotton pants tucked into a pair of traveling boot of similar coloring. Over this he wore his usual black cloak under which his shield and sword were strapped. His hair was slightly damp and he swore that he could still smell the scent of fighting despite the thorough washing he’d given it, his lips tingling as he winced at a memory he’d rather forget.

All other thoughts slipped his mind once he caught sight of the girl, Verida, riding a dark roan stallion around the corral obstacle course. Ever since he’d remembered where it was he’d first seen her, the girl wouldn’t leave his mind, and that worried him. There were things after him that he’d rather not touch her… but then, she was a warrior, wasn’t she?

Verida had caught sight of Shadow after he’d rounded the last corner. This one was particularly tricky since it had come after a series of very high fences, and your mount could run out of energy if you weren’t careful.

But her stallion was a hardy thing, and so she dug in deep, spurring it over that last hurdle before pulling back hard on the reins.

“Brilliant!” he called out to her as he approached, flashing her a blinding smile. “Absolutely brilliant! You and that stallion are a good match.” She returned his grin slyly from atop the horse, angling her head so that she was looking at him through her eyelashes.

“Thank you. However… you, sir, are late.” She lifted her chin slightly in mock offence. Shadow caught the pass at him and shrugged sheepishly, offering his hands to her so that he might make peace. “Please, do forgive me,” he replied as she dismounted and turned to face him, “but I did say that I might be late. I was otherwise engaged this morning and I wasn’t certain if I would be back in time to meet with you.” His bright eyes were eager, but they held a certain kind of sadness to them that she could not discern the origin of.

Otherwise engaged, hmm? Perhaps he had gone to assist Link after all.

“I see,” she murmured, nodding in understanding, “so what was it you wanted to meet me here for? Certainly it wasn’t the rustic charm of a few stolen kisses behind a stable was it?” She did her best not to smile as the faintest of blushes graced his cheeks – payment for the times he’d made _her_ blush – and he shook his head fervently.

“No, not at all! I wanted to get to know you, as I said! Just…”

“Just what?” Verida prompted gently. “Couldn’t we have met where you wanted to go?” At this, Shadow shook his head.

“It’s… better if it were a surprise. I sort of discovered it when I was exploring the other side of Lake Hylia, and I’ve been dying to show it to someone.” He shrugged sheepishly again and boyishly ran a hand through his mop of wild, dark hair. “But I want you to experience it the way I did when I found it.”

Verida stroked her chin, nodding slowly.

“All right, I’ll do this. So how are we getting there?”

For a moment he looked stunned, but then glanced in the direction of her horse. “You know, I had planned on renting a horse from the stables, but since you already have one of your own…?” He tilted his head in a silent but polite question.  “Do you think he’d mind?”

Verida glanced in the stallion’s direction, reaching over to stroke his mane. The horse leaned into the touch, looking up from his grazing towards Shadow before looking back at her. He snorted, and Verida supposed that it couldn’t hurt to try. “I don’t think so… not as long as I’m with him. You’ll have to take the reins while I sit in front, unless you have any other preconditions to this… excursion.”

He dug through his cloak and pulled out a blindfold. Verida’s expression deadpanned. “Really? A blindfold?”

After a moment in which all he did was hold it out to her with a shy smile. The gesture was almost… endearing in a strange sort of way, and it was enough to make her initial reaction of exasperation soften into a bizarre mix of resignation mingled with affection. Finally she took the blindfold with a sigh and said to him as she got up on the horse before putting it on, “Fine, but if you try anything, just know that I happen to have a talent for fire magic and I’ve been getting very good at setting certain things on fire when I concentrate hard enough.”

Shadow blanched, but after a moment paused to think about it. So she was a magic user as well? He mounted the horse and set himself firmly behind her as he grasped the reins and still maintained a proper distance between them.

“You’re a magic user?” He asked, genuinely curious.

She nodded, carrying herself very well without any other support than her own to keep her steady. Perhaps, Shadow thought, it was simply because the horse was hers and she knew its movements well enough that she didn’t need the reins or perhaps even the saddle to keep her astride him.

“It’s something of a family trait,” she said slowly, obviously being very careful about the words she used. He couldn’t tell over the rush of wind howling in his ears as he coaxed the roan horse into a gallop, so while Shadow could tell that the topic was difficult to talk about, he wasn’t sure whether it was for personal reasons or simply because she hadn’t yet figured what words to use.

“But surely you practiced it as a child?” he prompted, upon remembering that children who were strong in magical talents when they were young were still unable to retain them if they didn’t begin formal training before their thirteenth birthday. It had something to do with puberty, his father had told him once, and it didn’t like the magic to be there unless it had been practiced.

“I started training under someone when I was ten,” she replied, again being careful with her words. These were obviously more guarded, though they didn’t seem to be related to her earlier uneasiness.

“But what about you? Do you practice any kind of magic?” Shadow’s grip on the reins stiffened but otherwise there were no outward signs of his anxiety. “I had some instruction,” he muttered quietly, “It wasn’t terribly interesting, I’m afraid.” And from that point forward Shadow withdrew, his thoughts tumbling headfirst into a sea of memories from a happier time in his youth. Verida seemed to sense that he no longer had any interest in speaking to her, at least for the moment, so she focused instead on reaching out with her senses in an effort to pass the time and practice using her magic simultaneously.

Below them, the outstretched tendrils of her mind caressed the thick grasses of the fields, sensing the slow pulse of the growing grain pastures and catching the scent of the vineyards several miles out. Closer to her, the essence of Shadow’s life-force burned fiercely at her back, humming in time to the beat of his heart. She found it strangely exhilarating – to be free of her sight – for the absence of it allowed her to experience the world in ways she hadn’t before. Even her stallion that happened to share Shadow’s name was a fascination unto himself, especially as his whole being flowed with the magic that was the force of his existence.

Eventually Verida grew used to the harsh intensity of the thrumming life all around her that when it suddenly diminished to just three of them, she gasped, her breath hitching in her throat softly. Though she was certain Shadow hadn’t heard, she still tensed, reaching out around her for signs of life.

She found them, but they were in small spurts scattered about at different levels of elevation. She paused to listen to the sounds of the stallion’s hooves against the ground, noting that they were no longer thudding deeply against thick soil and clumps of grass but instead clacking against the flaky, rigid earth that marked the entrance to the desert. After a few moments however the fields greeted them again, and so Verida came to the conclusion that Shadow had simply taken the road by the desert entrance because it was faster.

That reminded her to scan her surrounding for other signs of life: life that would seek to harm them or impede their progress. She could find none at present, but until Shadow snapped the reins once to get her horse up to speed again so that they could jump the gates leading to the lake path she’d kept her senses trained on the masses of teeming life around them; no longer so enthralled with the distractions of the magical vibrations around her.

But once they were finally reaching the lake she let her magic run free along the lake’s edge, darting through the dirt and sand to find small reptiles and crustaceans crawling about and if she cast her mind out further into the lake, she could find hints of…

She frowned, her fingers itching to pull off the blindfold.

Verida _knew_ that the water of the lake was still there. But… no matter how far she reached, she could find no trace of living creatures in the lake water. It… unnerved her. The thought consumed her, and she drew her magic back into herself to fully devote her energy to contemplating the mystery.

So that was why she unprepared for when the horse reared up, neighing fiercely. He wasn’t frightened; Verida knew that for certain, rather he was furious about something. However, as he’d reared up, Verida had fallen back against Shadow, grasping the reins automatically.

Shadow, who hadn’t been expecting the stallion to stop so quickly, fell right off and rolled onto the ground to lessen the blow of the fall. He quickly got to his feet, searching for the threat, and when he saw the giant blue Tektite jumping towards him he hit the dirt and rolled towards the lake. Quickly he fumbled for his sword, scrambling to stand as he twice fell over his feet.

“Verida!” he called, “Take off the blindfold! We’re being attacked!”

His last few words were muffled as he ducked and sliced cleanly through another Tektite that had joined the first, spraying him with a light shower of blood and guts. Verida wasted no time in taking off the blindfold and launching herself off the horse. She pulled a sword from one side of her belt and a short-staff from the other, swinging the white blade with her right as she blasted fire from her left.

Shadow cursed under his breath. How had he not seen this coming? Tektites had never come so far down this side of the lakeshore, never mind so _many_ of them. Were they… after _him_?

He slashed through one more Tektite that had been comically hobbling about on only three legs, taking the moment to look up and take stock of the scene. Verida was handling herself about as well as he’d expected her to, and she was good at it. Even the stallion was holding its own, gnashing his teeth at any Tektites that dared to jump at his head and bringing down a rain of ironclad hooves whenever they happened to miss and land at his feet.

After a few moments they appeared to have taken control of the situation.

Verida turned around, having eradicated as many of the Tektites as needed. Most of the smart ones had fled once they realized those they were preying on were only going to turn them into the prey themselves if they continued to advance. However some of the more stupid ones stayed, hopping about in the hopes of getting a good meal.

It was at that point that Shadow’s gaze locked with Verida’s and they shared a tender smile. Shadow stepped forward, about to offer his hand to Verida to congratulate her on a good fight when suddenly one of the Tektites had finally gotten in a good shot, knocking Shadow to the ground.

Verida’s heart nearly stopped. Her vision tunneled and everything around her sharpened in focus as all but Shadow and the Tektite salivating above him turned to shades of grey. She reached out with her staff and flung whatever magic came to her call, putting everything she had into the spell. Once it was cast, she would later dimly recall pressing her weapons into the dirt to lean on the as she slowly sunk to her knees, wondering idly why the bloodstained blade was so cool on her forehead.

Shadow winced, readying himself for the final blow since he knew that Verida was too far away to do anything about it. But when nothing came, Shadow was astonished to find the Tektite perfectly frozen in a state somewhere between life and death.

He wriggled out from underneath the pitiful creature, watching in pained horror as its flesh slowly burned. It wasn’t stopped, but the space around the Tektite flowed with an amazing slowness that also slowed its death further with every second the spell went unbroken. So Shadow located his sword where it had fallen and cut it clean down the middle, breaking the spell and allowing the flesh to burn to ashes in the dirt. For a moment he simply watched in wonder and disgust until a pained whinny broke the vacuous space that had crawled into his head and planted itself there to whirl around in the direction of the sound.

Verida knelt, clinging to only her sword now as she pressed the entire right side of her face against the metal. She was flushed, her eyes unfocused and fully dilated, chest heaving slowly as she breathed deeply, sweat beading lightly where her forehead wasn’t touching the metal of the blade.

Shadow’s heart fluttered as he recognized the signs. Verida had apparently used too much magic all at once and was now going burning energy faster than her body could handle. He had to get her cooled down before she overheated, but he could only do that if he got her to the cottage. Concurrently he glanced down the lakeshore while he rushed to her side, taking her weapons and attaching them back onto her belt as he lifted her into his arms.

The cottage wasn’t far away, but he couldn’t walk or run the distance with Verida in his arms. The roan horse nickered nervously, snorting at him.

“Here boy,” he whispered, “don’t bite me. I need you to help me get your mistress to safety, all right?” The stallion looked as though he were contemplating the bit about biting, but eventually he stood still as Shadow lifted Verida up into a sitting position on the saddle where he quickly proceeded to follow her so that she would slump against his chest rather than fall off. He reached around her to grasp the reins, terrified that she was so much warmer than she should be already, so he chalked it up to her fire magic and hoped her natural resistance to heat would help her last until he got her cooled down again.

Soon they were approaching a small cabin that was nestled at the edge of the trees that congregated together at the base of the mountains that surrounded the lake and barred the way south towards the southern provinces. Shadow had made it his project in his youth even before he’d moved away from the desert, so the small house was something of a labor of love.

He grasped the reins tightly to pull the stallion to a stop, touching the horse’s neck briefly as he murmured, “Stay here, I’ll take care of your mistress. There’s good grass and pond behind the house. Don’t drink from the lake.” And with that he pulled Verida down from the stallion, carrying her inside.

He pressed against the door with his magic, the latch turning as he approached and the door swung open and behind him as he crossed the threshold.

There was only one bed in the cabin, mostly since he hadn’t planned on entertaining guests, but it would do for now. Carefully, he laid her down and proceeded to strip her of her cloak, boots, and weapons. He considered taking off her tunic (this one was a dark blood red color that matched her hair), but despite the urgency of the situation he simply couldn’t bring himself to try.

It was… too intimate, he felt.

He also found that she wore stockings with her boots, not leggings, though he supposed that it was a better alternative as long as one wore pants instead. He could also sympathize with her about the leggings if that was indeed why she chose not to wear them – they were terribly itchy around certain parts if you put them on wrong no matter how well they were made.

So after removing the stockings he stood and entered the only other room in the cottage – the kitchen/dining room – and pulled a latch that lowered a section of exposed pipe that ran over the ceramic sink he’d installed… oh, was it two years ago now? Two Hylian runes glowed along the side of the pipe, one for summoning and one for cooling, and seconds later cold water trickled into a steady stream that fell into a squat, cylindrical bowl he held above the sink to catch the water.

Once the bowl was full, the magic faded and the pipe repaired itself. It was a technique he’d borrowed from some of the magicians in Kakariko, with a few slight modifications.

He set the bowl down on the counter and dug through the drawer in front of him for a clean dishcloth as he quickly took both items and sat down on the right side of the bed. He set the bowl on the nightstand, soaking and wringing the cloth before gingerly moving Verida’s hair from her sweat-slicked forehead before pressing it down lightly.

Though she had passed into unconsciousness sometime on their short ride from the lakeshore, she still hissed as the cool cloth was pressed against her heated skin, the warmth of it making Shadow jerk his hand back and hold it to his chest as pain made it twitch periodically.

Shadow worried about her even more after that as he pulled the chair away from the small desk across from the bed, planting it next to the nightstand. There was so much magic running through her system right now it was a miracle that it hadn’t killed her yet. He could feel the waves of heat reaching out to him through her clothes, and it was then that he finally got the courage to remove her belt and tunic. He also discovered that she wore a thick band of cloth around her chest beneath her sweat-soaked undershirt, so he removed that as well, leaving her things to soak after he’d filled the sink with water.

By now his heart had stopped beating quite so erratically and he sighed deeply, sinking into the chair. He’d managed to replace the cloth without being burned by her magic, so perhaps that was a good sign.

There wasn’t much he could do about it now, so he decided to simply rest a while and hope that her fever broke soon.

* * *

_Verida was running again._

_She’d gotten up after the darkness had swallowed her, but it was as if the absence of light had transported her to another world that wished to consume her. All around her emanated swathes of cloying heat, and she coughed as she began to choke on their fumes._

_That was when she’d started running._

_In a bolt of panic Verida cast out her hand to call out for a light, and she was so grateful when one came that she almost stopped running._

_She desperately wished she knew what she was running **from**_ _, but she didn’t dare look behind her. The shadows that the light cast grew sharper and thicker as she ran, and they were slowly approaching her with rapidly increasing speed. Teeth nipped at her heels, growling and licking nonexistent lips at the taste of her flesh, and without warning she whirled on them, suddenly furious._

_The light by her side burst into life, surrounding her in a circle of flames._

_She had a choice, they said. They could stay here and protect her forever, or they could defeat their enemies and consume them instead._

_Verida’s lips twisted into a feral snarl. Their enemies would perish._

_She threw her hands out at the snarling shadows, watching coldly as her flames began to devour each and every one. Slowly each flame died away as it consumed more and more of the malevolent darkness until none were left. But Verida was not alone in the darkness still. She knew there was one left._

_This one was different._

_It was the darkness manifested, the power of the shadows as yet untarnished by the touch of mortals. It was the source from which all shadows drew their existence, and there was an apology somewhere floating in the vast expanse before her. Verida nodded to acknowledge the admission, the cloying heat fell away, and that was when she knew she was alone._

_Suddenly she wished she weren’t there anymore, but she had no idea how to leave. A spring of fear welled up in her heart, threatening to consume the threads of her existence._

_But something kept her from fading into the nothing that surrounded her._

_She remembered her own spark of light that pulsed through her with every beat of her heart: her magic, her source – her life. Verida reached up and pressed against her center, feeling the steady pulse of it beneath the layers of clothing and skin. It was as if they weren’t even there, and she realized in some small corner of her mind that she had just felt the essence of her own soul, the most intimate part of herself. It was in that moment she realized that she couldn’t stay there; else she risked death coming to call on her again._

_“Take me home,” she whispered as she closed her eyes, willing the world around her to fall away. The light grew in strength and intensity, the spell of the vast nothingness breaking with a swift flash of white._

* * *

Shadow leaned back in his chair, studying the young woman he’d been attending to the past four, five hours or so, if his clock was any indication. A single dishcloth was lying in the bowl of water, though he’d had to replace it about two hours ago after it had warmed to room temperature.

The other dishcloths were currently lying across the open windowsill in his kitchen that faced the lake, drying in the light of the late afternoon sun.

A stack of books taken from his small collection on the west-facing side of the room now sat next to his feet, but he’d long since given up reading them. Tending to Verida had ceased to become necessary about an hour ago when her fever finally broke, but she had yet to wake up and his worry for her consumed him. He glanced down at the books, finally deciding to give up trying to read any of them as he went to put them away.

Just as he was putting the last one on the shelf he heard Verida shift beneath the bed-sheets that he’d decided to cover her with after her fever had broken. Quickly he rushed back to the chair, barely sitting on the edge as his hands gingerly touched the edge of the bed.

“Verida?” he pressed gently, “Are you awake?”

Verida groaned at the sound of the words, her mind trying to remember as it drug itself from the fog of a deep sleep. The cadences were vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place them. She frowned, trying to lick her lips but finding that her mouth was terribly dry.

“Water,” she rasped, and not a moment later the cool liquid was being pressed to her lips.

She drank, and the voice instructed her not to drink too quickly. It sounded so sensible and steady, so she obeyed the directions until she finally managed to open her eyes.

Shadow was sitting on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his stiff weight. A bowl of water was in his left hand while his right clung to the edge of the mattress. Verida coughed, and Shadow’s tense-but-relieved expression tightened slightly with concern. “Shadow?” she whispered, covering her mouth as she yawned widely. “What…? What am I doing here?”

She slowly pulled herself into a sitting position and blinked at her surroundings. “And… where is here, exactly?”

Shadow sighed and set the bowl of water on a table next to the bed.

“This is a cabin that I’ve been working on for some time. Though it’s more of a shack since it lacks a foundation, but…” he shrugged sheepishly while still managing to look rather proud of himself. “It’s mine. My family doesn’t know it exists, so I can come here to be alone whenever I like.” Verida nodded appreciatively. “Is this… what you wanted me to see?”

Shadow’s cheeks flushed, and again Verida couldn’t help but grin at the fact that she’d made him blush again. In all honesty Verida had to admit it was quite adorable… among other things.

Now _that_ made her blush when she realized where her thoughts were.

“No,” Shadow admitted, shifting from the edge of the bed to the chair that was close by. “That’s a little further down the lakeshore. But… then you used to much magic defending me from that Tektite and you sort of overloaded your system, so I had to bring you here.”

Verida frowned. “Too much magic?”

Shadow nodded. “Here, let me get you some soup and I’ll explain.” He got up and entered the kitchen/dining area to fetch a packet of magically preserved Cucco and herbs so that he could mix it with some warm water. It was at this point that Verida noticed she was only wearing her tunic pants and her breast-band, something that made her pull up the covers so that they were tightly tucked around her chest and held there between the sides of her arms.

He frowned at her as he entered the room with the bowl of soup and a spoon set on a small wooden tray.

“You probably shouldn’t pull up the covers so high… you might overheat.”

Verida shrugged, hiding her face behind her hair in a peculiarly docile manner. “But, all I’m wearing is a my breast-band and my pants… where are the rest of my clothes?” Shadow’s face flushed again and he set down the tray while sitting down awkwardly in the chair next to the bed.

“I-I apologize… but I had to remove as much as I could so the heat wouldn’t trap itself in your sweat and kill you.” He looked away, the flash of emotion and magic in his eyes setting her senses on fire. She winced, and – forgoing propriety – pushed down the comforter so that only the bed-sheet was covering her. “Ah… I see.” She chuckled a little as she began sipping at the broth, which despite its warmth was doing wonders at cooling her inner fire.

“You did what you had to do. You saved my life, didn’t you?”

Shadow looked back up once he had the courage to do so, shaking his head. “I doubted you were in any danger, I just, I mean… you saved _my_ life. If you hadn’t stopped that Tektite, I’d be dead right now, or at the very least our positions would be reversed.”

Verida’s heart twitched with emotion.

It had been a long time since anyone had cared so much about her like that before in a non-platonic way. She smiled at him and caught his eyes, which held hers as though his life truly depended on it. Privately, she decided she liked being looked at like this. It was so different than the way other men looked at her. They tended to call her beautiful and stare at her curves (despite her denying their existence) and/or muscles, or if they had any decent amount of tact, her hair… but Shadow was different.

True, he’d called her beautiful too, but he’d only wanted to tease her. He seemed to prefer the contact of her eyes in comparison to her touch, and the gesture, whether intentional or not, spoke volumes about his character.

“I would have done the same,” she admitted, consuming the last of the Cucco bits and began to sip at the last of the broth, “at least, had I known what it was. I’d been warned about what happened if I were to use too much magic at once, but I never thought it would happen to me…” She frowned, glancing down at her broth. “I’ve always been so careful.”

“And,” she added as she picked up her bowl to sip, “I never expected to care so much about anyone else to stop…”

Shadow let out a slow breath as he let Verida’s words sink in. Did Verida… _care_ about _him_ that way, or had it just been something in the heat of the battle? Verida looked up, and Shadow felt his face flush again.

Had he said that aloud?

“Still, thank you for looking after me.” He watched as her lips twisted into an indulgent smile and she caught his gaze for the briefest of moments. “I’m glad it was you,” she said, pouring the last of the broth down her throat before handing the bowl to him. “That was absolutely delightful for something steamed in magic. Did wonders to fix that overheating problem.”

Her words sparked a memory of a similar exchange, and that brought a true smile to his face. “Think of it as repaying you for your services the other day at the bar on the thoroughfare.” He leaned in close, closer than he meant to, and he whispered to her with a smug expression of triumph, “And I would suggest that you just lie down and take it. I’ll just keep pointing out the logistics of it anyway.”

On impulse, Shadow pressed a kiss to her cheek to seal the deal, turning around quickly to take the bowl and tray back to the kitchen.

Verida blinked, reaching up a hand to trail the spot where he’d kissed her, feeling the muscles on that side of her face tense with the rush of blood and the tingling crackle of magic. He came back a few moments later with her weapons and the rest of her clothing, though he was considerably more reserved than he’d been when he’d left. As Shadow set the clothing in her lap Verida caught his wrist with a hand and gently forced him to meet her eyes.

“Can we talk?” she asked him, neither accusing nor reproachful.

“About?” It was just one word, but Verida could pick up on any number of things that his voice contained.

It was the first time she’d heard his even tone break enough for her to hear the emotion in it, as everything she’d been watching up to this point had been all in his body language and expression. Right now, he was a lot of things: worried, anxious, concerned, and hopeful. But most of interesting were the emotions not directly involved with her. He was terrified, but not of her. His tension and watchfulness were not because he saw her as a threat. In fact, she was quite the opposite.

“That kiss?” She let her lips turn upwards into a gentle smile to let him know she wasn’t angry with him, despite that she had every right to be. He relaxed a little, but he still wanted to distance himself from the action. “I’m sorry about that, I…”

“I didn’t mind,” she interrupted, “It was sweet.”

Shadow stared at her with mild astonishment; standing very still as she held his wrist and felt the pulse of his magic beat in time with his blood.

“Really?” Shadow tilted his head slightly. “You’re not angry with me?”

She shook her head. “If there was a time to be angry with you it was yesterday when you took my hand and kissed me then,” a mischievous grin replacing her tender one as she released his wrist. “And yet here we are, hmm? Now, let me get dressed so we can see that thing you found. I’m tired of lying here when I could be walking about and enjoying what’s left of the afternoon.”

At the mention of her getting dressed Shadow’s face flushed again and he quickly muttered something about not looking as he backed into the kitchen. She could hear him washing something in the other room, probably the dishes from her meal and whatever he’d fixed for himself while she’d been out.

As she put on each layer of clothing she felt her skin shiver as it tingled with the ghostly touch of Shadow’s magic. It reminded Verida of the shadows from her fever dream, only less frightening and more like the untouched power she’d had the honor of earning an apology from. Finally, when she had gotten around to pulling on her boots, she called to let Shadow know she was done.

“All right,” she chuckled, thoroughly amused, “I’m decent. Can we go now?”

Shadow came out of the kitchen and handed Verida her traveling cloak. He had already put his on, and she noticed that he seemed to behave a little less awkwardly now. He was still extremely self-conscious, but he seemed to be working hard not to project it and that made her smile and her heart melt and coalesce into a puddle of fuzzy adoration. Not… that she’d tell him so.

“Yes,” he replied, opening the door and gesturing for her to exit, “and we’re lucky it’s not far.” He didn’t say it, but the gleam in his over-bright eyes told her that he was honestly excited to show her whatever this was that he’d found.

Shadow closed the door behind him and grasped her right hand on impulse, leading her down the lakeshore. Once they slowed to a more leisurely pace, he realized that they were still holding hands and tried to let go, but Verida wouldn’t have any of it. He glanced at her pleadingly, but she simply tilted her head in response. “I don’t bite,” she told him. He frowned, sighing. “Yes but, this… _behavior_ … a person shouldn’t do such things with their sweetheart unless they intend to court the other person…”

Verida couldn’t help but giggle. “Sweetheart? What is going _on_ in that mind of yours?”

Shadow blushed again, but did not try to take his hand back from hers.

“I-I… I didn’t mean… ugh.” He pressed his right hand to his forehead, exasperated. Verida laughed, though she desperately tried to stop herself, and it was all she could do to shrug when Shadow turned to look at her again with a tired, dry expression. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh at you, it’s just… you’ve spent the last two days making _me_ blush awkwardly about things I did and said. It simply more or less amuses me that I can have that same effect.”

He frowned, turning back to stare at the path, muttering under his breath.

“Really, me? _I_ make you blush? When? How…?”

Verida was about to answer him, but suddenly they were upon a small jagged opening in the rock walls that she hadn’t even noticed they’d been approaching. It wasn’t so tiny that they couldn’t enter it without needing to duck their heads, but there didn’t seem to be several feet of extra headspace either. It was also partially obscured by the trees and shrubbery that grew nearby, leaving precious little of the entrance to be seen, even up close.

Shadow cleared his throat. “Ah… this is it. I want you to… well, wait. On second thought, just follow me.” He tugged with the hand she held, and Verida let go, assuming that he’d just meant for her to follow behind him.

Instead he grasped her hand again around the wrist, leading her through the brush and into the inky darkness.

Suddenly Verida was reminded of the dreams she’d had the past two nights, and how they’d both had a sense of _deepness_ to them. This place had it as well, but it was deep in the sense that she could feel the weight of the thousands of pounds of rock that were all around them rather than simply being deep underground. It also… didn’t stay dark for very long.

She’d been contemplating setting a flame alight with the index finger of her free hand, but after walking for a few minutes in complete darkness with only Shadow’s grip on her wrist to guide her, slowly lights began to appear in spots on the walls of the tunnel around them. Shadow stopped to watch as more and more spots began to glow and sparkle until all around them glittered hundreds of aqua blue and turquoise gems.

“What… are they?” she gasped. Shadow stepped away to touch one of the bigger gems with the hand he’d been using to lead her through the tunnel.

“Ingots of brightsteel,” he told her, “They glow in the presence of magic.”

Verida was stunned. “There’s… so much of it. You do know what… what brightsteel was used for, don’t you?” Shadow nodded. “Mages and other Hylian magicians used it when they forged their swords. It reinforced the composition of the steel they were using so they wouldn’t break after use.”

Shadow shrugged. “But since the Mage Knights are no longer in existence and most Hylian magic users no longer have the resources to forge such blades, the gems have become rather useless in that regard.”

He turned to her and Verida watched, mesmerized, as the glittering, muted colors of the turquoise gems splashed various shades of aqua and azure across the planes of his face. “But,” he said slowly, capturing her gaze in a tender, almost affectionate manner, “they are still beautiful gems when you see them like this.” He reached for her hand, and this time he didn’t seem to have the intention of kissing it. Instead, he simply glanced down; staring at the celeste tinted stone as though it were the most interesting thing in the world.

Verida couldn’t help another small smile. He’d done the same thing to the counter back at the bar.

“I hadn’t expected to care so much either, you know.”

He looked up – and Verida frowned as she caught a flicker of crimson and a flash of magic – everything fading away when she realized how much depth he was allowing her to see. To him, eye contact was everything. Touch was good, but the eyes were _his_ language. And right now they told her that he was telling the truth. He cared for her, but he was… so, so terrified. And she had no idea why. She sniffed, realizing that her heart ached and her eyes were tearing slightly. Blinking back those tears, she glanced down the tunnel and jerked her head down in the direction they hadn’t yet explored.

“Ah… is there more? Or is this all there is in this tunnel?”

The light in his eyes dimmed as he glanced in the direction she’d pointed out. Then his lips turned upwards in a cheerful grin as he chuckled with the weight of fond memories flitting through his response.

“Oh, yes! Certainly!” He turned back to her, his gaze steady but pleading.

“Would you like to see?”

Verida nodded. “I would. Please, show me.”

And she squeezed his hand lightly to let him know she meant it so that he would turn down the path and they would continue on. The glittering tunnel went on for some time, until Verida was beginning to wonder if he’d only been teasing. But eventually the sides of the tunnel gradually began to widen and curve inward until they came to a small alcove.

Stalagmites of various sizes littered the floor, some small enough and circled tight enough together to collect small pools of freshwater that dripped from the stalactites collected on the ceiling. On the other side of where they stood was a jagged opening made of the two formations that happened to be wide enough for them to have a clear picture of the lake and the effects of the setting sun. As they were facing the east, they couldn’t see the sunset, but the beginnings of the night sky were starting to sparkle, stars slowly appearing as the colors dimmed from muted oranges and pinks into dark blues and violets.

And of course, ingots of brightsteel still glittered all around the little alcove, creating an effect that nearly swept Verida’s breath away.

“Do you like it?” Shadow whispered, as though he were a child presenting something he’d made to a parent for approval. Verida sighed contentedly and walked over to the window of rocks that overlooked Lake Hylia. “Oh yes…” she whispered, slipping her hands into her pants’ pockets, “I do. Very… very much.” Shadow stood where he was awhile before shuffling over to stand next to her. They didn’t say anything for some time, and finally Verida thought it was time to ask him a question that had been on her mind since she’d heard the terror in his voice back at his shack.

“Shadow? May I ask you something? Something… personal?”

Shadow turned his head to look at her, a frown beginning to set into his features. “Well, I… I don’t see why not.” Verida closed her eyes, resisting the impulse to pinch the bridge of her nose. There it was again: that _fear_.

“Why are you so afraid to like me? You don’t need to be, you know.”

Her voice was so steady, strengthened by careful patience and secure truth. It almost made Shadow forget about why he’d been trying to hard not to get too close, but in almost forgetting all of his reasons came rushing back in full force and he stepped away from her.

“Because we can’t get too close,” he told her, hating the way the words tasted so bitter on his tongue and wondering why he felt like they were more akin to lies than the truth they had been when they’d first met.

She turned to him, a dark scowl twisting lips that were meant for smiling rather than frowning.

“And why not?” she inquired haughtily. “I’m willing to stop flirting with you if that’s what you want,” – and here she muttered something that sounded like, ‘I probably shouldn’t be flirting with you anyway, Impa’d have a fit…’ – “but I really do like you and I want to be your friend!” He chanced a brief glance in her direction but ended up looking away. “It’s… it’s not that, I…”

“Then what is it, Shadow?” she accused, “Generally when two people that have feelings for each other and have a few things in common get together, they don’t just show the other person a house they built or a cave full of gems just because they enjoy doing so!”

Suddenly, Shadow whirled on her.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt, Verida! You don’t know how dangerous it is to be me! So just… back off!”

Initially Verida had frozen when he’d moved so quickly, her hand twitching as it reached for her sword, her mind racing with questions she couldn’t answer. Had she missed something? Were there clues that had somehow slipped past her while she’d been playing the romantic that had obscured this more animalistic side to her companion?

None of them seemed to matter once she caught sight of the panic in his eyes, panic she recognized, but could not fathom where.

She winced, pain flashing across her temples as her father’s face came to view, that same panic flashing in his expression as he watched her younger brother fall from the very top of the Zora River and her twin sister diving in after him. She gasped, tears coming to her eyes and refusing to be contained. They streamed down her cheeks as the rest of the memories associated with that event returned to her: her father running after them, failing to grasp Aurelia’s hand as she and their brother rushed towards them through the rapids, her father coming back after searching and finding no trace of them.

Shadow winced when he realized that he’d hurt her terribly by snapping at her, and he let himself by guided by his reactions and turned to face her fully, reaching out to bring her closer, grasping her shoulder firmly.

“I’m… I’m so sorry, Verida, I…” he stopped, trying to find better words. “Please, I didn’t mean to shout at you, really. I’m sorry.”

Still not good enough, he thought.

Verida blinked as the feelings and the pain of the memories they brought with them slowly faded. She pulled her white kerchief from a pocket on her belt and pressed it against her cheeks to soak up the tears. Her body trembled and she felt naked, exposed as though she’d been flayed publicly for all to see. It didn’t matter that Shadow didn’t know the true reason for her tears, she’d still cried in front of him. She hadn’t been so embarrassed in a long time.

“I did mean it,” Shadow whispered after a few tense moments. “What I said. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

She turned to face him, noting the intensity with which his eyes blazed. Gathering all the chagrin that her embarrassment had produced, she matched that intensity with a terse, “I can take care of myself, Shadow. You’ve _seen_ that.”

His intensity couldn’t hold up for so long, unfortunately.

Shadow released her shoulder and lowered his gaze, retreating inward. “I know, I know,” he said through a sigh, “it’s just not… safe for me right now.”

Verida moved closer, her expression tightening.

“Then let me _make it_ safe,” she told him stubbornly, “Let me _in_ , Shadow. Talk to me!” Towards the end her voice had become little more than a growl. But Shadow seemed to have given up, his eyes narrowing wearily. “I wish I could, Verida. I really, really do.”

Verida’s scowl began to morph from anger into concern instantly.

She’d seen that look before too, when she first approached him in the bar. It was a strange mix of anguish and melancholy that should never be allowed to transform a person into something so beautiful, but it did. Verida never thought she’d ever use that word to describe a man, but there it was. Handsome just didn’t seem to fit, and attractive didn’t come even close. If she had to choose something other than that, she supposed she’d have to have gone with striking, but his expression was too soft for that.

“Shadow, please…” she whispered. Her hands moved of their own accord, snaking their way up his arms to eventually rest themselves at the muscles between the juncture of his neck and shoulders. She realized that he wasn’t as tall as she thought he was, but rather he was about Link’s height, so her arms rested comfortably on his shoulders.

Shadow stared, unsure how to proceed. His reaction to her anger had been instinctive, Verida thought, by the way his muscles had responded habitually rather than intentionally. So she’d thought she’d try tenderness instead. Apparently he had no idea how to react to tenderness.

“Verida, what?”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh. Just… don’t think.”

Her hands snaked into his hair – which was much softer than she’d thought it would have been – and gently pulled him to her. Realizing that he couldn’t fight it any longer, Shadow let his arms follow her motions and he held her as close as he could to make up for the time he’d spent trying to keep her away.

“Verida,” he murmured as his forehead pressed against hers, “Forgive me…”

She hummed quietly in acknowledgement, though it was mostly to get him to stop talking. She tilted her head ever so slightly, her warm breath ghosting his face and mingling with his. She was so close that she literally hummed with the thrumming of his magic, feeling the heat of her own magic that was desperate to escape.

Finally Shadow captured her lips, suddenly hungry for the magic that burned his skin even through his clothes.

When their lips touched, it was unlike anything Verida had ever felt before. Her mother had kissed her once on the lips, but that was her mother, and she’d been, what… four? This was different. Shadow’s magic seeped through every breath he took, and as they paused to catch their breath they dove for the other again, Verida’s fire aching to consume as much of the magic as it could.

And, what it did to Shadow… even every time he’d ever been in pain could not compare to how alive he felt kissing Verida. Her fire poured into him without abandon, dancing with the darkness inside him as though it were an intimate partner that it hadn’t spent time with in a long while.

Somewhere in the distance, a howl called, sounding the coming of twilight.

They broke apart; their foreheads still pressed together, neither really wanting to let go of the other despite the discomforting heat between them.

Verida also noticed something about Shadow’s eyes just then: that they were no longer that stark, over-bright blue that had disturbed her every time she’d looked into his eyes. They were now a deep scarlet red not so different from hers, and this time she knew this was his true color.

“Is it really so late?” Verida muttered eyes half-lidded. “Impa’s going to worry about me…” Shadow impulsively rubbed his nose against hers. “We should be safe here. Once we get back to my shack I can let you use my scrying glass… or the sink will work just fine, perhaps.” His gaze caught hers, and Verida’s lips turned upwards in a satisfied smile once she saw that most of his fear had left him.

“Does that mean you want me to stay?” she asked him quietly.

Shadow flushed, but he did not move away. “Yes, I suppose it does. Despite your skill at defending yourself, even I don’t go out alone on the well-traveled paths at night. Please, will you stay?”

Verida laughed quietly. “Well, you make a pretty good argument, how can I refuse?” And then she kissed him again, sighing contentedly despite her own fears. “And… another thing?” Shadow hummed softly in question. “Don’t hide your eyes. I think the red suits them.” Shadow chuckled softly, promising her that he would do as she asked.

Impa had never taught her how to guard against her own heart…

…but maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (while reading the stuff I wrote five years ago)
> 
> What the heck was I on while writing this junk...? Ugh.


End file.
